A significant number of women are stating their preference to remain single. They view marriage as a contract for institutionalized servitude with few rewards, since married women are expected to either stay at home or juggle an outside job, home management and child rearing simultaneously and single-handed. The lives of married women change drastically, while marriage changes men's lives only marginally. A recent survey of five Asian countries, reported by Time Magazine in its Asian edition, revealed that Korean husbands are tops in the unfaithful category and that Korean wives outdo other Asian women. Sexual harassment and sexual discrimination are rampant.
Women usually suffer in silence because whistle blowers often lose their jobs.
The Lotte Hotel recently dismissed four female workers who filed a sexual harassment suit. My next three columns will examine the current status of gender equality in other nations and the firmly entrenched problems that the Ministry for Gender Equality must begin to address in the near future. Robin Rhee has been a member of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation since 1994. Copyright 2000 Digital Korea Herald. All rights reserved.