Poverty is a woman’s issue both domestic and internationally;women not only make up over half of the world’s population but are also much more likely than men to experience homelessness and poverty. While there is a huge difference when of poverty is talked about in a first world country as opposed to poverty in a third world country, one cannot deny the number of women who have been impacted by this social issue. But, one would have to question: why are there so many women who are living in poverty? Feminization of poverty is a theory that seeks to explain the ever-growing gap between genders in relation to women. What makes women much more susceptible to poverty is the fact that women are more likely to be stuck raising children, forced to take jobs that offer less pay, and experience violence.
This is most definitely an invisible issue because no one wants to take on the burden of trying to combat poverty. Many people place a negative stigma to those who live in poverty often placing blame on the individual and not questioning the system that is in place. Would we have addressed poverty much more aggressively if there were more men than women living in poverty? And why is it so easy to function in society as if nothing is wrong? One thing that I’ve observed about the world we live in is that we don’t acknowledge that issues actually exist until it actually happens to us. So, what will it take for the world to wake up and realize the predicament that many women are in? We are in world of trouble if we do not rectify the causes and effects of poverty; we need to do not only reflect on ourselves as individuals but to reflect on society as well.
We live in a society where most women are at the bottom of the totem pole and where most women never truly know freedom of the mind, body, and soul. It’s time to ask questions and demand answers. A powerful quote that I admire comes from an unknown author states, “One of us is chained, none of us is free”. Understand, that even if one woman is oppressed then all of us are oppressed if not directly but indirectly. This is not to say that every woman is actually oppressed or deals with poverty but it is to say that poverty is an issue in relation to women. No one can truly know freedom until all of us are free!