Sexism

The concept of equal rights for women is as old as the ancient Greeks; the Greek philosopher Plato advocated for equality between the sexes in his Republic. Few civilizations have even approached this equality, however, and it has only been in modern times that women have been granted legal rights which were routinely applied only to men. Actual equality in society has lagged far behind legal emancipation, many believe.
Legal rights for women have evolved in the United States since the early 1800s. Pennsylvania was the first state which had a medical school for women (1850). Other professions also began to permit women to practice most states did not admit women to practice law until the middle of the 19th century, and virtually none did before 1820. In most states, married women were not permitted to own property or enter into contracts until the mid-1800s.
In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted giving women the right to vote. It was not until 1933 that a woman served as a member of the President's cabinet (Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor) in the Administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited sexual discrimination with regard to most employment issues. A proposed amendment to the Constitution to grant women equal protection under the law (the "Equal Rights Amendment") was passed by the Congress in 1972, but failed to receive approval from three-fourths of the states needed to ratify it in the prescribed time period for it to become effective.
Laws which exist in every state provide that women must receive equal pay for equal work, a concept which only a few decades ago was unthinkable. "Comparable worth" laws have been proposed in several states which would end the disparity between the pay of women in historically "female" dominated professions (such as teaching, nursing, and secretarial work) and "comparable" positions which are dominated by males.
Although sexual discrimination remains a problem at all levels of society, women have risen to leadership positions in government, business, and the professions, but not to the same degree as their male counterparts.

by:Andreia Mendes

Race/Color Discrimination

The Civil Rights, protects individuals against employment discrimination on the bases of race and color, as well as national origin, sex, and religion.
Equal employment opportunity cannot be denied any person because of his/her racial group or perceived racial group, his/her race-linked characteristics (e.g., hair texture, color, facial features), or because of his/her marriage to or association with someone of a particular race or color.
It is unlawful to discriminate against any individual in regard to recruiting, hiring and promotion, transfer, work assignments, performance measurements, the work environment, job training, discipline and discharge, wages and benefits, or any other term, condition, or privilege of employment. The prohibits not only intentional discrimination, but also neutral job policies that disproportionately affect persons of a certain race or color and that are not related to the job and the needs of the business. Employers should adopt "best practices" to reduce the likelihood of discrimination and to address impediments to equal employment opportunity.

by: Andreia Mendes

Homophobia

Homophobia describes hostility or fear of gay people and homosexuality, but it is not limited to this specifically. For example someone might be called homophobic if they dislike gay people; or if someone is violent towards a gay person they could also be described as homophobic.

Homophobia around the world

In 2005 a gay man was killed every two days in Latin America because of his sexuality. In Brazil, where the government launched a campaign against homophobia in 2004, 2,509 gay men were murdered between 1997 and 2007.5

A demonstration in Brussels, Belgium calling for laws against homosexuality to be repealed

In many African countries, such as Zimbabwe and Zambia, homophobia is legitimised by governments, and gay people face persecution and violence from police, employers, hospitals and community organisations. In South Africa, the law has been changed to improve rights for gay and lesbian people, however it remains to be seen whether social attitudes towards homosexuality have really improved in that country.

In India, lesbians are stigmatised more severely than gay men, as there is huge social and family pressure for women to get married. India’s traditional family-oriented culture provides no space for open discussion of sexuality. Gay and lesbian people are subject to harassment and persecution from police and government agencies.

by: Andreia Mendes

Helen Keller

Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1880. When she was only 19 months old, she contracted a fever that left her blind and deaf. When she was almost seven years old her parents engaged Anne Mansfield Sullivan to be her tutor. With dedication, Miss Sullivan was able to help develop the child's enormous intelligence. Helen Keller quickly learned to read and write, and began to speak by the age of 10. When she was 20, she entered Radcliffe College, with Miss Sullivan at her side to spell textbooks – letter by letter – into her hand.
After graduation, Helen Keller began her life's work of helping blind and deaf-blind people. She appeared before state and national legislatures and international forums, traveled around the world to lecture and to visit areas with a high incidence of blindness, and wrote numerous books and articles. She met every U.S. president from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon Johnson, and played a major role in focusing the world's attention on the problems of the blind and the need for preventive measures. Miss Keller won numerous honors, including honorary university degrees, the Lions Humanitarian Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and election to the Women's Hall of Fame. During her lifetime, she was consistently ranked near the top of "most admired" lists. She died in 1968.

India´s "Untouchables"

More than 160 million people in India are considered "Untouchable" -people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure, less than human.

Human rights abuses against these people, known as Dalits, are legion. A random sampling of headlines in mainstream Indian newspapers tells their story: "Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers"; "Dalit tortured by cops for three days"; "Dalit 'witch' paraded naked in Bihar"; "Dalit killed in lock-up at Kurnool"; "7 Dalits burnt alive in caste clash"; "5 Dalits lynched in Haryana"; "Dalit woman gang-raped, paraded naked"; "Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits".
"Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same temples, wear shoes in the presence of an upper caste, or drink from the same cups in tea stalls," said Smita Narula, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, and author of Broken People: Caste Violence Against India's "Untouchables." Human Rights Watch is a worldwide activist organization based in New York.

India's Untouchables are relegated to the lowest jobs, and live in constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper-caste Hindus seeking to keep them in their place. Merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a life-threatening offense.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_untouchables.html

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was the first President of South Africa to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, serving in the office from 1994–99. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress. The South African courts convicted him on charges of sabotage, as well as other crimes committed while he led the movement against apartheid. In accordance with his conviction, Mandela served 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island.

Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela has supported reconciliation and negotiation, and has helped lead the transition towards multi-racial democracy in South Africa. Since the end of apartheid, many have frequently praised Mandela, including former opponents. Mandela has received more than one hundred awards over four decades, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He is currently a celebrated elder statesman who continues to voice his opinion on topical issues. In South Africa he is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan. The title has come to be synonymous with Nelson Mandela.

Immigration

The causes of immigration are always the same: run from poverty, unemployment, environment destruction, war, violence and political or religious perseguition. Immigrants run from an intolerable situation that oblige to leave their birthland to look for a better life.

Immigration isn't evil, by the contrary, several historical examples show that immigration constitue a powerful mean for the cultural, social and economical developments in human kind.

We use to say that immigrants come to do the works that the "natives" don't want to do, and they accept doing it from a lower salary. In Portugal, in average, immigrants offer lower salaries in 2.6% that portuguese workers doing the same functions.