Status of Women A womens role in Bolivia is not one of high extravagance.

For the most part they do not have fancy cars, they do not travel, nor do they have glamorous clothes. Women take on a traditional role. Women in Bolivia do not live in conditions of equity with to men. Illiteracy amongst women is greater, they have a low income generating capacity, the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world. A womens main duty is to be the one who bares children and care for the family (UNICEF). Women even act as if it is their duty, and they do not have any more responsibility than that. Women are not useful when they do not produce children for their family. Rather than be valued for their talents they are responsible for taking care of the house. Women are often less literate than men. In their culture men are first in line to go to school. Merriam-Webster defines illiteracy as the state of not knowing how to read or write According to Unicef illiteracy is greater amongst women than men. In Bolivia, the illiteracy rate for women is 19.35 percent, while the rate for men is 6.94 percent. In the rural area illiteracy among women is 37.91 percent, while the mens rate is 14.42 percent. This date was retrieved from a research among ages 15-94. Women are not likely to retrieve education, however in rural areas the likelihood is higher to be illiterate. Violence is a large issue in Bolivia, most commonly domestic violence. We receive between 35 and 50 victims of domestic violence at the

center per day," says Rocio Molina, who is in charge of Bolivia's special division for the protection of family. Men will often beat their wife. One horrifying myth within Bolivia is that real men beat their wives (Vera Freitag). This ideology causes 100,000 registered acts of violence among women to occur. According to fsdinternational.org more deaths and disability occur among women per year than cancer, malaria, war, and traffic accidents. Women in Bolivia do not receive good health care, especially prenatal care. Bolivia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, 1 out of every 256 women die after a live birth (UNICEF). Women are not given the care that is needed to birth a health child, and stay healthy after having their child. Women in Bolivia are 30 times more likely to pass after having a child than women in the United States (IPAS). In addition to a high maternal death rate, abortion is illegal. The only circumstances that abortion is permitted are rape, incest, and endangerment of the mothers life. The government has made it difficult to get an abortion. In order to perform a legal abortion a doctor must get judicial authorization (IPAS). Women are not informed about sex education. This causes more births, which causes more death ranging from all ages. 57% of women engage in sex before the age of 20 (fdsinternational). Women do not receive

good education nor do they receive help after it is to late. Women rarely get cervical cancer screening or contraceptive methods. As stated before a womens role is to reproduce and take care of the family. Due to this women have a low-income capacity. Within the late decade the womens income capacity has only grown 3%(UNICEF). Women will often be found on the markets selling goods. However in rural areas a womens role is different. Women are given the least productive jobs. They are paid the less also. This is due to discrimination and their little levels of education (UNICEF). Women are not equal with men in all aspects of their lives.

Bibliography UNICEF. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/bolivia/children_1538.htm Vera Freitag. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dw.de/bolivias-women-hope-foran-end-to-the-violence/a-16645065 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fsdinternational.org/country/bolivia/weissues (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ipas.org/en/Where-We-Work/TheAmericas/Bolivia.aspx (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illiterate