It is widely accepted that men are the dominant sex in the world, and that when it comes to human rights, the majority of them concern only men. With that being said, it must be true that is also widely accepted that women are the submissive sex in the world, and the rights of women are either determined by men or do not exist at all. While women fought for and gained many of the rights given to men over the years, a vital set of rights is still lacking for women all over the world, and these are women’s sexual rights. Access to sexual rights is imperative for women to gain equality with men in our world due to the many rights are granted to women with sexual freedom.
No one knows a person better than one knows thyself. For man to make decisions about women’s sexual identity and activities is for men to be insensitive to the variations of desire women can experience outside of heterosexuality. In order for women to gain equality, it must become common knowledge that women are capable of experiencing sexual pleasure in many forms, and with both women and men. With this being said, I declare that women should have the right to pursue sexual pleasure however and with whoever they prefer. This includes having rights for women to choose and marry their own partner, to bodily integrity, and to privacy. These rights therefore make it banned for any form of female genital circumcision to be performed unless condoned by the woman receiving the procedure, and it also prohibits the denial of any woman to access contraceptives, abortion, or any other medical procedure that the woman considers necessary for her health. These rights for women also protect women from sexuality-related harm such as violence or abuse of any nature because of gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Women who decide to take advantage of the previously stated rights also have the right to equal treatment and consideration regardless of her chosen identity. Women who decide to venture from social norms have the right to equal treatment in the areas of protection, freedom from torture or excessive punishment, recognition by law, privacy, family, and home. Just as no person should be discriminated against based on the color of their skin, no person, male or female, should be discriminated against based on their sexual identity or preference. Crimes that intentionally target those who exercise the previously states rights should therefore be judged with the same severity as those who commit hate crimes. “Honor killings” that are the result of women’s private, personal, and sexual decisions will no longer be tolerated, because women will no longer be considered men's property, and women will have the freedom to make their own decisions.
In conclusion, I declare that, by having the rights to sexual freedoms, women take another large step in becoming completely equal to men who previously controlled the sexual aspects of the lives of women. By allowing women the right to choose their sexual identity and orientation, women are given control of a part of their life that is intimate and private, and should have always been to the women’s discretion to begin with. It is unnecessary for anyone besides the woman to know who she chooses to share a bed with, how she identifies herself, how she chooses to treat her body, etc. Women deserve the right to be as powerful as men in our world, and having equal sexual rights plays a huge role in ensuring that is a part of the future.
