In her writing, Sandra Cisneros (204) pays much attention to the issue of discrimination against women. In her article entitled ‘Only Daughter’, the author dwells heavily on the issue of women being seen as second class people after men, with even parents seeing the girl child not as valuable as the male child. To illustrate this, the author takes the reader back to her younger years where the reader learns that she was brought up in a family of a Mexican father and a Mexican-American mother. Discrimination was evident in that the girl could not play with her brothers since they could not harbor the idea of being seen playing around with a girl.
Worst of all, the father never seemed to recognize that he had a daughter. Rather, he always bragged that he had seven sons, to an extent that the daughter had to always remind him that it was six sons and one daughter. This did not seem to work though. The father educated her but only because he knew that she would later become somebody’s wife, so he was modeling her for the role. The author however, sought to establish her grounds. She pursued her education and became a renowned author. It was only after this that the father appreciated her for who she really was. This shows one thing, women have to be vigilant in advocating for their rightful place in the society. Otherwise, the discrimination against them will not come to an end. The respect for the woman can only spring from the women themselves.
The author’s views are further asserted by the Do Something Organization (1). The organization illustrates the large extent to which discrimination against women has taken rot. It illustrates that at all the stages of life, women are always discriminated against. This is in line with Cisneros (32) who had to battle with discrimination throughout her childhood to adulthood. On this note, it can be seen that the argument by Cisneros is authenticated since she is a celebrated writer, and she writes from her own experience.
What then can be done to curb this problem? Cisneros (35) indicates that the solutions to the problems of the womenfolk can only arise from the integrated efforts of the women. Empowerment programs can also give a boost to the battle against the discrimination of women. In this perspective, the United Nations Human Rights Commission (3) indicates that though there are individual efforts that women can apply to end the discrimination, the entire society should also be involved in controlling the vice. As such, governments and institutions should set up strategies that facilitate the war against discrimination. Fro instance, there should be a hotline number through which women can call to report cases of discrimination, mainly because the discrimination comes with a form of violence against the women.
There should also be committees or legislations on the rights of women, which aim at making their lives more comfortable. With such efforts, then the war against sidelining of women can be easily won. In conclusion, this essay has looked at the issue of discrimination against women, taking the case of Sandra Cisneros as the case study. With relevant literature review, it has been established that the vice can be curbed only if women took it upon themselves to advocate for equal treatment. Other authorities can assist in the efforts by providing channels through which women can carry out their advocacy activities.
Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. Only Daughter. 1990 [pdf]
Do Something Organization. Background on Discrimination Against Women. 2012. Web, 6th Feb 2012, http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-discrimination-against-women
United Nations Human Rights Commission. Combating Discrimination Against Women. 2012. Web, 6th Feb 2012, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Discrimination/Pages/discrimination_women.aspx
