In this age of scientific development an iron-curtain society can no longer exist. There are new and advanced modes of work and travel, communication and recreation across the globe, yet certain mindsets still stick at. Gender inequality is an unswerving product of such mentalities and it is not specific to some parts of the world but is more of a universal problem.
From the very beginning, girls and boys are treated differently. Pink for girls and blue for boys, which is not the issue, the issue is where this mindset stems from. Girls are given dolls and expected to be docile, speak in a low voice and boys to be muscular and speak in a loud voice. If a girl speaks in the same voice she is labelled as disobedient, whereas the boy is encouraged to speak even louder.
Gender inequality is entrenched in many Asian and African countries. In Afghanistan women have acid thrown on their faces for acquiring education. Same brutality is repeated in Pakistan in the name of honour. In some parts of Africa women are raped so viciously, for the sins committed by the men in their family, that their reproductive and digestive system become irreparable. Women cannot drive an automotive in Saudi Arabia and are forced to suppress their desire to drive a car living in Saudi Arabia. In China, women are denied of political participation and deprived from decision making roles. Moreover, China’s one child policy has further aggravated the situation. Most of the time, female foetuses are aborted. Official statistics show the current ratio at 118 baby boys born for 100 girls. These figures indicate a growing gender imbalance in China. India claims to be the largest democracy in the world but, when it comes to gender, equality the real spirit of democracy is absent there.
Even the civilised society of United States of America is not spared from this menace. Women are likely to earn less for what they do and have a lesser say in political and domestic affairs. Yale University scientist Dr Victoria Brescoll pointed it out. She said, “In the 2008 presidential election, a woman came close to getting a nomination, and an African-American man ended up president of the United States, a job formerly reserved for white men”. He said like the glass ceiling which keeps women from rising higher, the glass cliff is what counter-stereotypical individual (such as women police chiefs) are in danger of falling from.
In the 21st century it is even more imperative for women and men to be treated equally in order to achieve a fully functional integrated society. Almost half of the world’s total population comprises of women whereas their percentage in the human workforce is despondently insignificant. Women’s participation in professions like armed forces, police, engineering, law and medicine must be equally appreciated and welcomed as that of men. It is time for them to have their rights they have been deprived off for centuries.
USMAN SHAHID
Lahore