Women’s liberation
The Women's Liberation Movement began in 1960s. It was started by women who were concerned about their identity, their role in society, and their work, and about the view of women that many people held.
Women's liberation, or Women's Lib, is the name of a broad-based but informal popular movement. It embraces widely varying organizations, people, and ideas. Some are moderate; some are radical. All are concerned with changing the role of women in contemporary society.
This movement is not a political party. It is more like a forum or platform from which feminists (supporters of women's rights) speak out on women's issues. In books, articles, lectures, feminists attack the timeless inequities built into a male-dominated social system, and suggest possible remedies.
Such inequities are easy to find, according to these women. One of the most objectionable is the unequal distribution of power throughout the system, especially at the top.
Many women reject the straitjacket role of childbearing and homemaking, jobs which women did not choose for themselves but which had been imposed on them by a male-dominated society. They want absolute equality with men - in marriage, in the workplace, in politics.
Many women want full equality with men in every aspect of life. In marriage, they want husbands and wives to share all the work and responsibilities of a home and a family. In work, they want women and men to have the same jobs and the same chance to succeed. They want women to be paid just as much as men for the same work. Other women agree with some of the ideas of women's liberation. They want the same pay if they hold the same job as a man. At home, however, they do not expect their husbands to share in the cleaning, cooking and other household jobs.
The key word is equality.
The Women's Liberation movement set out to change this. Through the movement, a program of goals and objectives was set forth. Not all women agree on all points, of course; but there is consensus on most of the following.
The Women's Liberation movement has not yet achieved all its goals, some of which are controversial even among women. But the movement has already had considerable impact in many areas of male-female relations.
Many people agree with the ideals and goals of women's liberation. They feel that women ought to be considered equal to men in every way. They feel that a woman shall be able to decide to stay at home and raise a family, or to stay at home and not raise a family, or to go out and work, or to have a job outside the home and a family as well.
Other people are opposed to women's liberation.
The Women's Liberation Movement is trying to give women a chance to show what they can do.
THE MAIN ORGANS IN UNO
The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them – the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat – are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located in the Hague, the Netherlands.
The General Assembly
All UN Member States are represented in the General Assembly – a kind of parliament of nations which meets to consider the world’s most pressing problems.
The Security Council
The UN Charter gives the Security Council primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. The Council may convene at any time, day or night, whenever peace is threatened. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to carry out the Council’s decisions.
There are 15 Council members. Five of these – China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States – are permanent members. The other ten are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.
Decisions of the Council require nine yes votes. A decision cannot be taken if there is a no vote, or veto, by a permanent member.
The Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council coordinates the economic and social work of the United Nations and the UN family.
Five regional commissions promote economic development and strengthen economic relations in their respective regions.
The Trusteeship Council
The Trusteeship Council was established to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories administered by 7 Member States and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government or independence.
The International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the main judicial organ of the UN. Consisting of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council, the Court settles disputes between countries.
The Secretariat
The Secretariat carries out the administrative work of the United Nations as directed by the General Assembly, the Security Council and the other organs. At its head is the Secretary General, who provides overall administrative guidance.
The Secretariat consists of departments and offices with a total stuff of about 8,900 under the regular budget, drawn from some 160 countries.
THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION
BASIC FACTS
The United Nations Organization is central to global efforts to solve problems which challenge humanity. Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated organizations, known together as the UN system. Day in and day out the UN and its family of organizations work to promote respect for human rights, protect the environment, fight disease, foster development and reduce poverty. UN agencies define the standards for sale and efficient transport by air and sea, help improve telecommunications and enhance consumer protection, work to ensure respect for intellectual property rights and coordinate allocation of radio frequencies. The United Nations leads the international campaigns against drug trafficking and terrorism. Throughout the world, the UN and its agencies assist refugees and set up programs to clear landmines, help improve the quality of drinking water and expand food production, make loans to developing countries and help stabilize financial markets.
The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership now totals 191 countries. The headquarters of the UNO are located in New York. All the documents are worked out and submitted for discussion and resolution in 5 languages: English, Russian, Spanish, French and Chinese.
When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty which sets out basic principles of international relations. According to the Charter, the UN has four main purposes:
to maintain international peace and security,
to develop friendly relations among nations,
to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights,
to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.
UN Members are sovereign countries. The United Nations is not a world government, and it does not make laws. It does, however, provide the means to help resolve international conflict and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member States – large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systems – have a voice and vote in this process.