Why Is Gender Inequality a Problem in South Asia?

To answer why is gender inequality a problem in South Asia, we must understand some of the long-held customs and understandings of that country. As many countries have experienced, boys have traditionally been more valued than girls. This stems from practical things like income and provision, but also from beliefs like women being the cause of a husband’s death, resulting in her ostracism from the community.

Families often must also pay the groom’s family a dowry when a couple marry, which can put extreme financial stress on already vulnerable families of girls. The practical along with the cultural combine to reduce the value of a woman in the society at large. And as with any prejudice, this belief system has perpetuated centuries of unfairness in how women are treated in South Asia.1

However, there are solutions to both the practical and the cultural. Organizations like GFA work to overcome the different stigmas and gaps that prevent women from building a life and providing for themselves and their families. GFA national missionaries help to address the practical issues of illiteracy and skill building by providing literacy classes and vocational training for women and opportunities for them to learn new skills, like sewing.

On the cultural side, missionaries like the Sisters of Compassion bring the love of Jesus Christ to the villages and towns where women are marginalized.2 Through their tender care, they bring the Good News that the God of the universe loves and values them enough to die for them and their sins. They then welcome them into community. This simple step of teaching women their value can be instrumental in giving them hope.


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