“How can we demean women who give birth to the kings?” An excerpt from Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji.
Gender equality in simple terms means that both men and women enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It is intrinsically linked to sustainable development and is vital to the realization of human rights for all. Some nations like Denmark, Sweden, Germany, etc. do follow gender equality but alas! many do not. In developing countries like India, women are subdued by many deleterious societal norms like, lack of respect and education, economic inequality, discrimination in career-advancements, sexual harassment, racism, dowry-related issues, domestic violence, and much more.
Right from the very birth, begins the woeful story of a woman. And most of the time, it is another woman, her mother who is responsible. She is considered inferior to her brothers in all aspects. In small villages, she is even deprived of elementary schooling, forget higher education. Well, let me cite the example of Ms. Malala Yousafzai here. On 9th October, 2012, she along with two other girls was shot on her way back from school. Her only fault was that she dared to study and motivated other girls too. Fortunately, she survived the attack and now is a Pakistani activist for women education and the youngest Nobel-laureate, inspiring thousands of people, including me. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2014.
The issues being faced by women today in different parts of the world are innumerable. Here, I have penned down my thoughts on how to resolve some of these. First and foremost, the mothers need to teach their sons about the key role and contribution of women. The mothers should follow gender equality right from the beginning and train their sons in all the house-hold chores as their girls. The first teachings from our mothers get instilled in our hearts and guide us to choose between right and wrong through-out our lives. Secondly, the governments should impose strict and timely punishments for those who treat women unequal and inferior in any way. Those indulging in heinous crimes such as female feticide, domestic violence, sexual harassment, enforced prostitution should be sternly dealt with so that others could get a lesson. The safety of women at home, on the streets, in schools and offices should be the utmost priority and all necessary steps need to be taken to ensure it.
Women should be duly promoted and rewarded in all spheres of life, whether academics, sports or entertainment. Women should be allowed to raise their voice against injustice and most importantly these voices should be heard. Although I am not in favour of reservation in jobs or higher education for women, however I strongly feel that the selection committees should ponder and consider the female candidates if they have risen from a difficult background and unfavorable circumstances. Of course, these selection committees should have women selectors for unbiased decisions. Many women are a powerhouse of talent but only because of the backward mind-set of a few people and harmful societal stereotypes, they are never allowed to come forward. In fact may-a-times, women themselves restrict their ambitions as they think their primary responsibility is taking care of their homes and family.
The government and organizations should take all necessary steps to promote such skillful and accomplished women. Child-care facilities and flexible working hours should be made available in all offices. We, as a society should also generously contribute towards women-directed initiatives of the government. Women should be given key and powerful positions in any organization as women can serve as much better administrators and problem-solvers than men. This is because of all their inherent virtues and merits which many men lack. They can address any big issue with their calmness, kindness and truthfulness. They are far better in teamwork than many men and hence can lead a team effectively and cohesively. Their passion and dedication for work and never-say-die attitude can help any society to rise and shine in any adverse situation that even includes the present corona crisis. History is replete of such examples where women have led from the front and have succeeded.
I would summarize that the progress and success of any society, nation and economy largely depends on the way they treat their women. In the words of Kofi Annan, a Nobel-laureate and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, “When women thrive, all of society benefits, and succeeding generations are given a better start in life”. So each one of us need to think and act responsibly as this issue of ‘gender equality’ touches every facet of our lives.
After all, how can we treat women unequal or I would say even equal to men? Being the very reason of our genesis, she is indeed far more superior!
-Anhad Kaur
TSMS Noida
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