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Human Rights


The statement “the human experience, no matter where you live, is relatively the same,” is not true. Some countries, such as Iran and Afghanistan, have major women’s rights problems. The women in these countries live in constant fear, and can be targeted even by their parents and husband, for a reason as small as suspicion that they were doing something they shouldn’t have. This has happened in many cases, but one was a fifteen year old named Nasrin. Her father killed her, but according to Iranian law, he was not allowed to be punished. Other countries, such as the United States, and the Netherlands, have good human rights conditions, and are trying to help those people being targeted in their home countries.

In Iraq, laws do not protect women very well at all. Sharia Law is still followed in many cases. Women can still be killed for things like dishonoring their family, adultery, or sex before marriage. In America, these crimes would cause national outrage. News programs across the country would report the injustice, and the family member would be in prison soon afterwards. This is just one example of how the human experience is drastically different in Iran than in countries like America.

In Afghanistan, women are still being threatened with death if they don’t quit their jobs. Girls are also being poisoned for going to school. This is a national injustice, when countries such as the United States and the Netherlands allow women to work without a second thought. With such a drastic difference in the quality and experience of life, this statement is further proven to be invalid.

In Sierra Leone, children are being used as soldiers and/or miners. Sierra Leone’s diamonds are some of the highest quality in the world, but they are also the source of a large amount of conflict. These child workers are often abused and forced to work harder than any other workers, probably because they’re almost powerless against those in charge of them. This is very different from the United States where anyone under the age of 16 can only work a total of around four or five hours a day. The children of Sierra Leone, therefore, likely have less of an enjoyable childhood, than those of the United States. This is yet another example of the difference in human life experience.

The Netherlands, when put against these other countries, largely proves the point that the human experience is very different. The Netherlands largely respects the rights of its citizens, a concept that seems unheard of in the previous three countries. The Netherlands is also trying to help child soldiers, and doing what they can to protect the rights of these abused children. They also don’t use child soldiers, presenting yet another difference in the human experience. In addition, the Netherlands is now a safe place for lesbian and gay Iranians, because they are a group that is specifically targeted in Iran. This proves yet again that the human experience is different in the Netherlands than it is in Iran.

In conclusion, the statement that “the human experience, no matter where you live, is relatively the same,” is blatantly false. The human experience is very different depending on where you live, the resources available to you, and the views of your government and the people around you.

Iran Afghanistan Sierra Leone The Netherlands