Martin Luther King Jr. gave his ‘I have a Dream’ speech in August of 1963 in support of international equality, and yes, here we are 50 years later, still debating the same issue. Equality Now is an organization that works toward a worldwide egalitarian society. Equality Now is a highly ranked organization working, “For the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls around the world,” (Equality Now) with many supporters, one of which being Joss Whedon, a profound American screenwriter, who donates and supports the organizations current focuses.
Equality Now was founded in 1992, it is a non-government organization that does not accept any direct funding from the government. Their mission statement is, “Equality …show more content…
Equality Now works to eliminate discrimination in law, to have worldwide equality between the sexes. “Equality Now calls for the repeal of all laws that discriminate against women.” In order for women to have the same opportunities as men they must bring discrimination to a stop. Sexual violence is a major issue in society today, many traditional practices in both culture and religion even condone sexual violence. Equality Now works to bring government support to this issue allowing and encouraging investigations to take place to bring perpetrators to justice. They aim to stop the media from normalizing and even glamorizing sexual violence. By putting an end to sexual violence many more women get the opportunity to live their lives to their full potential. Another issue is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Equality Now has support of the World Health Organization (WHO) "FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. The practice violates a person 's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death." (World Health Organization) FGM is a major human rights violation, it involves the damaging or removing of female genital tissue in young girls and sometimes women, it has no health benefits and can in fact cause many health problems that will follow the women for the rest of her life. This procedure is often done without any form of anesthetics and is a very violent and torturous act against women it is inflicted upon. FGM is most popular in Africa and the Middle East and many cultures see it as a rite of passage for young