Violence Towards Women in Tibet
Introduction:
Due to gender discrimination, there is more violence against Tibetan women than men by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Unconsented and forceful acts of violence have been committed against Tibetan women, specifically targeted at Buddhist nuns, since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950. While Tibetan women non-violently protest the Chinese government, they are physically, emotionally, and sexually abused by troops and within prisons. The human rights of these women have been completely disregarded.
History of Women in Tibet:
Tibetan women essentially had equal rights with men in their country. They had the privilege of many civil liberties that women of other nationalities did not have. Outsiders viewed Tibet as a perfect society in the mountains. Although women had many rights and a lot of power within their own families, Tibet was no Shangri-La. While women were usually equal to men under the law, women in Tibet were clearly socially inferior to their male counterparts.
After the Chinese invasion of 1950, the Chinese claimed through propaganda that Tibetan women were repressed in the society. They claimed they would absolve women of their inferiority and get rid of class and regional distinctions. In fact they have only subjected women to more pain, torture, and emotional suffering.
In ancient Tibet, women take pleasure in similar culture and freedoms as men. Due to a culture of Tibetan Buddhism, equality is promoted throughout the country. Tibetologists explain hardships of women through the strict class variations instead of an inequality between the sexes.
Marriage rights in Tibet are equal for both men and women. There are three types o...
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Tibet Justice Center. Violence Against Tibetan Women. March, 1995. <http://www.tibetjustice.org/reports/violence.html.>
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Tibetan Women’s Association. Our Will Against Their Might; Women Prisoners of Conscience in Tibet: A Report. New Delhi: Tibetan Women’s Association, 1995.
Yardley, Jim. “China Grants and Early Release of Tibetan Nun.” New York Times, February, 2004.
1 Geoff Childs Tibetan Diary From Birth to Death and Beyond in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004) 41.
Many ancient laws and beliefs show that women from all around the world have always been considered inferior to men. However, as time went on, ideas of equality circulated around and women started to demand equality. Many women fought for equality and succeeded in bringing some rights. However, full equality for women has yet to be fulfilled. This issue is important because many women believe that the rights of a person should not be infringed no matter what their gender is, and by not giving them equality, their rights are being limited. During the periods 1840 to 1968, total equality for women did not become a reality due to inadequate political representation, economic discrepancy, and commercial objectification.
China’s policy of political imprisonment is a clear act of genocide. It is used to incite bodily and mental harm and inflict conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Tibetan people. At times imprisonment even results in death. These crimes are all accomplished under the guise of being legal in Chinese law. A statement made by Amnesty International in 1996 cites these abuses:
Tung, R. J. (1980). A portrait of lost Tibet. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
South Asian women engage in patriarchal values and normative structure established more than two thousands years ago, continue to be oppressed by a dominant group of men. These women suffer further oppression through the strict adherence to cultural garb. Still today, media and educational system portray South Asian women as self-sacrificing, faithful to the family, and submissive to men.
Polygamous marriages in Tibet were the basis of an article by Melvyn Goldstein, the articles specific focus was on a unique type of marriage they practice called fraternal polyandry where several Tibetan brothers marry one wife. Age determination is the method in which each brother is place; sexual aspects of the marriage are age-related as well as how children are treated within family groups. Discussed also within the article was family planning and how these polyandry marriage are celebrated.
...ghur rights, as human beings, being violated, and who's responsibility is it to make sure that rights aren’t violated, as well as if China is living up to its responsibilities as a world power, to take care of its people.
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[11] Trimondi, Victor and Victoria, The Shadow of the Dalai Lama, part I, section 2.
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The everyday role of women in many countries is quite different from that defined in Buddhist scriptures. Pure Buddhist ideology The Buddha originally banned women from monastic practice (nuns) but later reversed. his decision, allowing them to practice in separate quarters. The Buddhist scriptures say very little about women, treating them as equals. In one scripture, the Visuddhi Magga, a monk asked, “Reverend Sir, have you seen a woman pass this way?”
When thinking about being a teenager, everyone can remember how stressful of a time this truly was. Today’s teens now have one more stressing aspect and that is that of abstinence only policies. Many high schools throughout the United States, are opting out of abstinence only education and going to the much more effective comprehensive sex education. Schools that strictly teach abstinence only, have higher rates of teen pregnancy and are at a substantially increased STD risk rate. While there are two very opposing sides to how teenagers will be taught about sex, the underlying theme is that, young adults should be aware that abstinence is the only 100% safe way to not get an STD or become pregnant. However, they also need to be taught the real
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