Sex segregation
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Sex segregation is the separation of people according to their gender.
The derogatory term gender apartheid (or sexual apartheid) has been applied to segregation of people by gender, implying that it is sexual discrimination. In some circumstances, gender segregation is a controversial policy, with critics contending that in most or all circumstances it is a violation of human rights, and supporters arguing that it is necessary to maintain decency, sacredness, modesty, female safety[1] or the family unit.
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[edit] Public facilities
In the interest of modesty, public toilets, public showers, dormitories, changing rooms, prisons and other areas are usually sex segregated, outside of a private home.
This can create problems when one parent is in charge of an infant of the other sex, who finds him or herself needing to go to a toilet. The parent is in a dilemma of having to ask a stranger to take the child into the toilet, taking the child into a toilet of the other sex, or going into the toilet of the other sex with the child. Although there is no consensus on the point, it seems that the age at which is permitted to bring a child into the toilet designated as for the opposite sex is about six, though some people complain even at that age.
Another issue relates to the homosexual or lesbian person and which toilet are they expected to use. More sensitive and the cause of some disagreement involves the transsexual, cross-dresser etc. Some people feel uncomfortable when they use the toilet. There is no etiquette on the point.
[edit] Sports
Sports are usually segregated on a gender basis. Even sports that do not rely on physical contact, such as archery or golf, have separate sporting events. It is only in the early years that boys and girls are permitting to play sports together.
To cater for the religious requirements of various ethnic groups, and for other preference reasons, sometimes separation is achieved by allocating times or facilities for the exclusive use of one gender, usually of women. This is sometimes done with public saunas, swimming pools and gymnasiums.
Many countries now have laws outlawing discrimination on the basis of sex, and regard the refusal to provide facilities on an equal basis to both men and women as sexual discrimination.
[edit] Sex discrimination
Historically, certain occupations tended to be exclusively for men and others for women. Occupations such as nursing and secretarial tended to be almost exclusively for women. This is referred to as occupational segregation.
With the movement to sexual equality, formal barriers have been removed. However certain occupations still continue to be dominated by one gender or the other. For example, more than 90% of nurses in the United States are women and only 6 of the fortune 500 companies have women CEO's.[citation needed]
[edit] Education
For religious or other cultural reasons, schools might be segregated on a gender basis. There have been studies conducted to analyse whether single-sex or co-ed schools produce better educational outcomes, but each has its advocates and critics. Even in co-ed schools, certain classes, such as sex education, are sometimes segregated on the basis of gender. On the other hand, even in single-sex schools teaching staff usually consists of both men and women.
In Louisiana following the forced race integration of public schools, the schools were segregated by sex. St. Bernard and Jefferson Parishes (surrounding New Orleans) instituted sex segregation to reduce the likelihood of black and white students dating. The last year of sex segregation in Jefferson Parish public schools was 1975.
[edit] Religion
Some religious buildings have separate entrances and worship areas for men and women. Some trains have designated women-only passenger cars.
[edit] Judaism
In traditional Jewish synagogues, the females' section is separated from the males' section by a wall or curtain called a mechitza.[2]
In Israel there are a few "modesty buses", serving ultra-orthodox Jewish neighbourhoods, which are segregated by sex, with men in front and women in the back of the bus.[3]
In Israel, there is new research that shows how both boys' and girls' performance can be increased at school, with a higher ratio of girls to boys in the classroom: "Keep Boys and Girls Together, New Research Suggests"
[edit] Islam
Islam discourages social interaction between men and women.
The textual basis for insisting on total segregation of the sexes is the hadith on zina (fornication and adultery) of the limbs narrated from Ibn Mas`ud by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad with a strong chain: "The two eyes commit zina, the two hands commit zina, the two feet commit zina, and the genitals commit zina." Another wording with a passable chain in the Musnad includes the tongue and specifies in the end: "Then the genitals actualize it or belly it.". However, it does not necessarily follow that this hadith can be used as justification for saying "Therefore, according to Shari'ah, to look, speak, listen, etc. to any Ghayr Mahram (women you are not related to or married to) except at the time of extreme necessity is Haraam and impermissible."
Sex segregation is strictly enforced in some Islamic countries.
[edit] Christianity
The terms "gender apartheid" and "sexual apartheid" have also been used to describe differential treatment of women in institutions such as the Church of England[4] or the Roman Catholic Church. See, for example, Patricia Budd Kepler in her 1978 Theology Today article "Women Clergy and the Cultural Order".[5]
In churches, men and women sit together in most Western Catholic parishes, while in many Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox parishes, there is a separation of genders. This is not as common in the New World as it is in the Old World, especially in more rural areas where men will sit on the right (near Christ's icon) and women will sit on the left (near Mary's icon).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Amnesty International includes segregated toilets among the measures to ensure the safety of girls in schools. Six steps to stop violence against schoolgirls, Document ACT 77/008/2007, November 2007.
- ^ Synagogues, Shuls and Temples. jewfaq.org. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- ^ Katya Alder, "Israel's 'modesty buses' draw fire", BBC News, 24 April 2007
- ^ Women clergy accuse Church of sexual apartheid | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited
- ^ Theology Today - Vol 34, No. 4 - January 1978 - ARTICLE - Women Clergy And The Cultural Order
[edit] External links
- RAWA - Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. Documenting Taliban atrocities against women
- Gender Apartheid an essay on the topic from Third World Women's Health
- Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan an anti-Taliban pamphlet from the Feminist Majority Foundation
- Taking the Gender Apartheid Tour in Saudi Arabia
- Direct Action is Necessary Because Homophobia is Sexual Apartheid by Peter Tatchell, October 7, 1994
- Saudi Arabia's Apartheid by Colbert King, Washington Post December 22, 2001
- Against Sexual Apartheid in Iran Interview with Azar Majedi
- Sexual Apartheid in Iran by Mahin Hassibi
- Church persists with sexual apartheid, say women priests The Guardian, October 25, 2001
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