The author needs to employ an editor as he waffles on and on making it most confusing. Surely he could come straight to the point and say directly what it is he is getting at.

Many of the crimes he mentions as being specific to women ar cultural and I wish him luck in changing long held cultures. Making them unlawful internationally will not stop the occurance.

Take FGM for example, it is a violation of human rights but try changing the culture that permits it. It also is the women of that culture that actually carry out the mutilation of the little girls.

How does one overcome that? Education has not worked.

Dear Banjo,

I believe that the author of this article is a woman.
She's a human right lawyer who's trying to bring about
change. We can only wish her success in her endeavours.
She's worked in these countries - and has seen first-hand
the atrocities she's writing about. If you don't shine
the spotlight on these things they won't change.

Lexi,
It matters not what gender the author is. The article goes all over the place, with no clear outcome or objective. Just what is it the author wants? Readers of the thread are guessing.

International recognition of cultural acts against women is not going to help those affected. Here we do not even have any idea how many forced marriages there are. Our efforts would do better if we concentrated on upholding the current laws, and females would be better off too. Waste of time making up new laws that will never be upheld.

If we cannot uphold the laws here, what hope for the females in the Middle East or Africa.

I now see the author is studying for a Masters in Journalism. She should do a course in communication firstly. I doubt she would get a pass in primary school essay composition.

There is nothing new in using the imagery of violence against women and children

<“Playing on the allegorical representation of Liberty as a woman, Allied artists repeatedly depicted a female Belgium stripped to the waist, bound and violated . . .” (Gullace, Sexual Violence 16). It was this kind of propagandized imagery that stimulated and popularized the war effort. Many of the very same negative characterizations (of men) which had been waged in the “sex war” by the suffragists were now employed to depict the “Teuton barbarian” in the fight against German aggression. The oppressors of both British women (in the fight for equality) and Belgium (in the fight for liberation) were characterized in a sexually aggressive manner. It was this kind of war propaganda, combined with an already fully mobilized feminine consciousness>
http://itech.fgcu.edu/&/issues/vol1/issue1/feather.htm

The author uses the same tactics, as those used early last century.

Women and children as horrible victims of ugly brutal men.

It must be rough when you're so bad at holding down a job, you have to change countries every year or two.

On the subject, of course not. What fool could ever believe women are human?

Dear Banjo,

With all due respect I have to disagree. We can put up many excuses for inaction. That's the easy way out. And I imagine that the author
is not expecting miracles. However things do get achieved by small steps and above all - by persistence and determination.
Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan "Press On"
has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.