Social Justice Issues

     We are faced with many social justice issues in this day and age. Across the world, human beings are denied their rights to education, life, and freedom. However, I consider our two most pressing social justice issues to be the need for women's equality  and the extreme nationalism of many countries and people today.
     In the 21st century, half of the world's population is still oppressed. Even though America is one the best countries in the world for women to live in, we are still paid less than men, sexualized in the media, and kept out of the most powerful positions in business, politics, and medicine. In other countries, women are treated almost like animals. In the Middle East, women are not allowed to drive, wear what they want, love whom they want, or receive an education. In India, women are raped, degraded, and treated as objects. The lack of respect for women leads to other horrifying crimes such as human trafficking, the sex slave trade, and forced prostitution. If the human race cannot respect half of its members, we will never advance far from our primitive origins. 
     Secondly, I consider nationalism and sectionalism between countries, regions, and even people as a social justice issue. Looking at recent conflicts such as the wars between eastern European countries like Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo, the Rwandan genocide, or the current conflicts between the Alawites and the Sunnis in Syria, all of these conflicts are the result of strong pride in one's nation or ethnic group. If we cannot learn to resolve conflicts diplomatically and rid ourselves of our prejudices and hate, I am afraid that atrocities like the Rwandan genocide and Syrian civil war will continue to occur.