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Women 's Rights And Gender Equality Essay

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All men and women were created equal. However, this obvious truth is not universally shared. Fortunately, there is a very real fight for gender equality that we are currently engaged in, and a participant in that fight that holds a fundamental role are non-governmental organizations (NGOs). NGOs exist as private, voluntary organizations that function without government restriction and bias because they are not for profit and not funded by the government. These organizations coordinate strategies in order to “perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of information.” These core characteristics of NGOs meld and cooperate to advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. These organizations are actually quite effective in achieving their missions of promoting women’s rights and gender equality. Women’s rights NGOs led the General Assembly to adopt the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women. Women’s rights NGOs advocate for the idea that women’s rights are included in human rights. In Nicholas D. Kristof 's and Sheryl WuDunn’s bestselling novel, Half the Sky, readers are introduced to the many plights that women suffer from in countries all over the world. Sex trafficking, forced prostitution leading to the abuse of women and young girls, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases are all very real

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