Civil Rights: Protection From Discrimination Essay

Introduction

Civil rights are the constitutional guidelines that protect individuals against ill-treatment or denial of what is rightfully theirs. One of the civil rights that is well articulated in the United States and other countries around the globe is protection from discrimination. Discrimination has been widely explained as consideration or treatment of a person by a class, group, or category that he/she is perceived to belong (Cochran et al. 263). The groups or categories under which one can be discriminated include race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and others. Discrimination or segregation involves exclusion of an individual from a given social activity or even maltreatment based on a given group (Cochran et al. 263). Some places or amenities where an individual can be segregated include hotels, places of worship, transport systems, and healthcare systems. In other cases, individuals are discriminated based on their culture, which different groups of people may perceive as primitive (Cochran et al. 263). It is essential for all the nations of the globe to protect both their citizens and emigrants with dignity and without discrimination.

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Discrimination Based on Race

Racial discrimination involves segregation or maltreatment of an individual or group of individuals based on their skin color. This practice has been rife in the United States as well as other nations. For instance, apartheid policy in South Africa neglected the blacks in many ways including denial of quality healthcare services, shelters and other social amenities (Cochran et al. 263). Human dignity among Africans and other groups like the Indians had been veered off.

The apartheid policy provided the best services to the whites followed by Asians. Africans were subjected to unparalleled maltreatment, and strict rules were put in place. Each racial group had their buses, trains, hospitals, and schools (Boyle and Sheen 20). The best hospitals, schools, roads and other social amenities and services were preserved for the whites with Asians and Africans left to access the poorly constructed and equipped social facilities (Cochran et al. 263). The law in nearly all the nations of the globe categorically states that no human being should be denied access to given services, killed or mistreated based on the color of his/her skin. It is the peril of racial segregation that led to the enactment of laws and policies that protect individuals from discrimination based on their race.

Discrimination by Sexual Orientation

People have been discriminated based on their sexual orientation in many parts of the world. The sexual orientation of people from different regions or parts of the world differs in many ways people whose sexual orientation involves two people of opposite genders has not been as widely criticized like the ones involving the same gender (Raub et al. 149). The United States recently passed a law that protects gays and lesbians from discrimination of any kind. Discrimination based on one's sexual orientation may involve the use of derogative terms to refer to a given group, denial of job opportunities or access to given services based on ones, sexual orientation, or even denial to clinch some political offices (Raub et al. 149). In Australia, a law was passed in 2010 to protect people from discrimination based on their sexual preferences.

In another case in the United States, a senior cleric who was believed to be gay was sacked for his sexual orientation and ordination of gay pastors and leaders. To ensure inclusion of all people regardless of their sexual orientation, the Australian government included protection of people by the enactment of a federal law protecting people from discrimination based on sexual orientation (Raub et al. 149). In the current world, legal rights have been enacted for the protection of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender persons (LGBT). The rights of these groups of people have been an issue of concern both at international and national levels.

Religious Discrimination

Religious discrimination involves maltreatment or lack of respect for a person based on his/her religion or based on what one believes in. It can also be termed as unequal treatment of adherents of different religions (Boyle and Sheen 20). This unequal treatment may be before the law, workplaces, schools, hospitals, or other institutional settings. The law protects people from traditional religions, organized religions like Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and also others who hold religious, ethical and moral beliefs (NeJaime 1169). The law protects discrimination of people regarding any aspect of employment, hiring, payments, promotions training and job assignments.

Americans are protected under the First Amendment to ensure that religion is practiced freely. However, most countries around the globe are not under government protection which results in harassments for their beliefs. Religious discrimination at times makes people fail to access reasonable accommodation or live in conditions that befit human standards. Sometimes the dress codes differ across religions making it difficult for people to agree with each other. For instance, Muslims believe that a lady should at least have all her face covered fully. This is contrary to what Christians believe (NeJaime 1169). All these differences alongside others result in segregation based on one's religion. Some people have been discriminated based on their religious beliefs like dress codes, prayer schedules, days of worship or even religious practices including the language used.

Other religious practices that make individuals discriminated against include the ones that may compromise safety or work efficiency. Sometimes people have been continuously persecuted for their beliefs that were considered archaic. It is religion and religious discrimination that has led to global wars and concerns across the globe. Terrorist activities are in most cases accelerated by religious differences discrimination (NeJaime 1169). The perception that people from specific religious backgrounds are likely to be terrorists' sparks misunderstanding and religious discrimination against such groups. This accounts for the continuous war that has lasted more than three centuries between Palestine and Israel. Religious discrimination has led to

Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination refers to a situation where both men and women are not treated equally. The unequal treatment of people due to differences in gender is also referred to as gender inequality. Gender discrimination is also known as sexism which means that one is prejudiced on his/her sex or gender (Rudman 20). Gender inequality has taken place in diverse walks of life like education, employment pay and others. Some organizations pay men more money than women while others prefer women to men. Similarly, some organizations and social settings are always comfortable dealing with people of a given gender. It is of utmost importance that individuals get protection against gender-based prejudice, exclusion, maltreatment, and denial of access to some amenities (Rudman 20). The laws that have been put in place for the protection of individuals against gender discrimination are categorical and spell out the different provisions that an individual should never be denied due to his or her gender. One of such laws is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act which protects the rights of those who are pregnant. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individual citizens against gender-based violence or discrimination.

The U.S supreme court has some landmark cases that dealt with gender discrimination. Some of these cases include Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Faragher v. The city of Boca Raton, and others. Other laws include The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) (Rudman 26). These are laws that guarantee equal opportunities to obtain credit and prohibiting creditors from discriminating applicants of credit based on gender, sex, race, religion, and others. It is important to note that most of the civil rights protect individuals against discrimination of different types. Some job opportunities like aviation and engineering were initially preserved for men and women were not to take part in the jobs (Rudman 25). Similarly, career opportunities like nursing were in most cases preserved for women and men rarely involved themselves. This accounts for the reasons why there are a higher number of men who are engineers and pilots compared to women. It also explains the cause of a higher number of women than men in the nursing profession.

Conclusion

Protection from discrimination of any kind is essential for the citizens or emigrants of any given nation. Although the United States has continuously fought for the protection of her citizens and other people against discrimination, a lot is hitherto achieved pertaining the nation's full protection against discrimination. Some of the significant areas that need to be checked concerning discrimination in the US and the entire globe include the religious domain, the ethnic domain, the racial domain, and the gender domain. Discrimination in the world is a significant concern that accounts for job loss in some areas, social segregation, and even physical harm. It is of utmost importance that the nations whose constitutions have not yet addressed discrimination to incorporate it in their constitutions.

Works Cited

Boyle, Kevin, and Juliet Sheen. Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report. Routledge, 2013.

Cochran, Amalia, et al. "Perceived Gender-Based Barriers to Careers in Academic Surgery." The American Journal of Surgery, vol. 206, no. 2, 2013, pp. 263-268.

NeJaime, Douglas. "Marriage Inequality: Same-Sex Relationships, Religious Exemptions, and the Production of Sexual Orientation Discrimination." California Law Review, 2012, pp.1169-1238.

Raub, Amy, et al. "Protections of Equal Rights across Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: An Analysis of 193 National Constitutions." Yale JL & Feminism, vol. 28, 2016, pp.149.

Rudman, Annika. "The Protection against Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation under the African Human Rights System." African Human Rights Law Journal, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015, pp. 1-27.