While everyone is celebrating Women’s Day it would be important to trace through the pages of history to see where women stayed once under a social hierarchy and where they’ve managed to reach today – and whether they are still struggling against misogyny or male ego.
Anatomically and physically women are different compared to men and it is not rocket-science; but due to these differences an argument had preceded over every other gender based discussion – women are physically weak and they were born that way.
Presentably the weakest and quite honestly a scary notion – because it would create a prejudice to perceive women as inferior beings who require constant protection from men. It also creates an attitude in men to objectify women too, to perceive them as ‘mindless’ beings whose sole responsibility is to cater to the needs of men.
These things have been discussed in an earlier article as well – but to reiterate many of the points once talked about, is to put a discussion of where our society has progressed with regards to women empowerment?
When Women’s Day is celebrated internationally it is also challenged by outdated yet persisting notions like “why is women’s day celebrated in grandeur fashion than men’s day?”
Many local corporations and entities function with a man mostly at command and often at times, men dominate almost every work place. Upon inquiring about whether this is rooted in gender discrimination or not many explained that women tend to have a shorter career span – this is mostly due to a preconceived notion that women will not work past their marriage or labor.
As harmless as it may seem, the existence of such beliefs have in time evolved into a social norm for many to get accustomed to. Often at times countering arguments against these notions are shrugged off with remarks like “they cannot work as hard as us” or “they won’t stick around for long.”
But that very ignorance is also a dangerous thing for a society; because somehow, whether we would like to believe or not we subconsciously believe that men fare better in everything than women.
But times have changed and is constantly changing and we are witnessing women rising to take charge in the society – many hold reputable jobs much like their male counterparts and some even excel better.
However, the sad reality which the Maldives is still infested in is the misogynistic values harbored by many – to gender specify this would not be fair.
Let’s take a look outside of work places or the corporate environment and scan through the everyday lives of us.
We can see the hypocrisy etched into our core when it comes to gender biased concepts or notions.
Men are often seen as empowering, strong, charming, outgoing and friendly individuals if they are socially active – and in doing so, keep a long list of female companions. He is perceived as a compassionate individual who is respected by the other gender, whereas a woman of such an extrovert personality are often looked down upon by the society as something ‘vile’ or ‘indecent.’
A man alone a coffee table is a contemplating man about life or important matters. A woman alone? Many would perceive she is grieving over loneliness and such.
“If women are equal to men or as strong and intelligent as men why aren’t there any female billionaires on the top spots of the Forbes list?” an ex-colleague questioned once.
There were no specific answers to it, but rather a frightening thought of how measly a woman’s status is among people.
Perhaps the individual had forgotten about the women mathematicians responsible for shuttle launches at NASA during the Space Race, or the likes of Gina Rinehart or Yang Huiyan.
But that very ignorance is also a dangerous thing for a society; because somehow, whether we would like to believe or not we subconsciously believe that men fare better in everything than women.
To believe that a man’s natural physique is strictly the reason for them to excel in everything compared to women, is a fool’s thought – and stupidity at its best.
When Women’s Day is celebrated internationally it is also challenged by outdated yet persisting notions like “why is women’s day celebrated in grandeur fashion than men’s day?”
Women have had dealt with more social prejudice and discrimination in history compared to men – which now is known facts. We’ve seen it through various pop culture adaptations, books and several other contents.
So perhaps it is only appropriate that the world may celebrate one day in as much of a grandeur style as possible to acknowledge the human civilization, though not completely but mostly, is moving towards a gender equal norm.
But yes, one must never forget that there are cases and places where the duties and responsibilities do differ and biologically there is nothing we can do about but be considerate to the opposite sex.
A lot has been and will be done even in the future for progressive women’s rights movements and such. Sadly, there have always been those who oppose the idea of gender equality in societal hierarchies it is a cog rooted deep within the society due to years of passed down beliefs which in time have become prejudice.
Perhaps the best way to counter it and generate an environment where women are no longer harassed or publicly humiliated over their vices unlike their male counterparts, societies as a whole need to understand that civilizations do not boom with one gender at the helm – there would be no men if not for women.
