#both are same

GENDER EQUALITY: A KEY TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD Part 1... "A gender-equal society would be one where the word 'gender' does not exist: where everyone can be themselves." A wonderful quote by Gloria Steinem. I am in search of this world. A world where there is no difference between a man and a woman. Today, each one of us has a thought in our mind: girls are weak. Girls are sensitive. But that is not the case. That shouldn’t be the case. Each one of us is born with the same capabilities. Just the difference is how we utilise them. Neither a man has extra capabilities nor a woman. Gender inequality, how did it start? Many of us do believe a myth that it started in the old era. Well, that’s not the case. It started somewhere in the medieval period when women were forced to do only household works. They were often stopped from being educated and moreover, women could not fulfil their dreams. Early marriage was one of the major factors. But, looking at the present-time scenario, I don’t feel that women are quite deprived. Women are quite getting a chance to work like men. Examining the present-time situation of the modern world, we can find women in almost all fields of the world. Starting from the armed forces to the space research centres. Women can be seen excelling in all the fields. Earlier, male-dominated politics was a common scenario. But, today no fewer women are into politics. Earlier, access to education was limited to men. But, today most of the parents are encouraging a girl child for education. A perfect example from America, Carly Fiorina: CEO of Hewlett Packard (HP). What a wonderful scenario where a Chief Executive Officer of a big company is a woman. Another great example, I would like to cite is from India. A recent moon mission named Chandrayan-2 launched by India included more than 30% of women in its team. As a coin has two faces, even we have a side which is facing problems today. The rate of female foeticide is increasing tremendously in the past fifteen years. Stereotyping of women is still visible in many parts of the world. Violence against women, an evil act, is seen in many parts of the world. When we compare the equality status of men and women, we find that women are experiencing more inequality than men. But even men are experiencing inequality in some aspects. The major factor where men are often ridiculed is their profession. If a man takes up dancing or nursing as his profession, he is often criticised in the society. He is not respected in the society. Another crucial factor that leads to a bias is a man’s way of expressing emotions. Men are not supposed to cry. Only girls can express emotions by crying. This symbolises that girls are weak. This needs to be stopped with immediate effect by letting people know that it is one’s own choice of expressing her/his emotions. A major concern has been raised and a solution has to be taken out. Although governments in many countries are taking step towards the betterment of society, there is a long way to go. This is just a start. We haven’t even completed a quarter of our success journey. Just as you cannot clap with one hand, the world cannot become better on its own. We have to join hands to bring about welfare. When there would be awareness on a large scale, only then can the world progress.