Equal Opportunity for All

1662 Words4 Pages

Many socially marginalised groups can be compared to each other in regards to their struggle for equality. People seem to overlook, fear or put down those they perceive to be “different” or “not like us”. Unequal opportunity can be represented in things we read, things we watch on television and everyday things we here and say. There are a range of categories under which differences have been highlighted and these are mainly focuses on differences in ability, ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality and families. Ways in which people in society may choose to deal with this discomfort they have with these differences can be either excluding individuals, trying to ‘fix’ the differences, ignoring the differences or valuing them.

Equal rights give empowerment and provide people with the opportunity and ability to be able to live their life to the fullest and help us all to follow the path toward a common future. Usually, occurrences of discrimination are subtle types and many times it goes unnoticed by either the minority being discriminated against or by the person from the leading culture.

Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The United Nations Convention Article 2, it is stated: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty” (United Nations, 2011).

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