“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Shelley
Women have always been deprived of their due rights when it comes to leadership, social, economic and political matters. It could be a freedom of speech, leadership roles, workplace harassment, forced marriages, education barriers or basic gender discrimination. Women are usually considered as the ‘weaker’ sex portraying them inferior to men. This is why people believe women are meant to be at homes, looking after children, hidden from the society and take care of the households. Many people view them as a mere ‘show-piece’, that has to be decorated with ornaments and make-up to be sold publicly.
A woman stepping up in the industry is questioned and forced to back down just because she is ‘not’ supposed to be doing what she wants to. It’s the society, the public and the people’s mindset that will not accept this. A woman is viewed as incompetent although she has power, will and hope, so why not? She needs to be given a ‘chance’ at least. Women are full of potential and need to explore their inner-selves because they can do wonders if motivated and guided the right way.
Even in Pakistan today, there exist several conservative areas where females are not given their basic constitutional right to vote. This creates hurdles and makes them feel ‘useless’ and left out. Apart from that; freedom of decision-making, freedom of movement and freedom of speech are part of basic human rights. It’s not about feminism, but we need the rights that every individual, being a human, deserves.
People love telling a female to ‘give up’ and accept defeat when compared to men. Many females step down, shatter their dreams, especially when they see themselves as the ‘only one’ usually in male-dominated areas. Women in engineering and technology, regardless of the increasing modernization, still face gender discrimination around the world. A girl is treated as a sheep since the day she is born, her future is decided without her consent and is usually asked to pursue arts or humanities, because she is not considered worthy enough to opt what she really has passion for. These misconceptions need to be eradicated for once and for all.
If a woman can suffer monthly and give birth to a child, she can face the wicked world too. If a woman can be strong mentally, she can be strong physically too. We need to stop looking down upon females. They contribute and deserve to get the same opportunities and liberties as the opposite gender.
“A woman can not only do what a man can; but she can do it a lot better!”
The best example that can help prove the fact here is the ongoing corona-virus pandemic. A research has shown that ‘female-led’ countries have coped the spread of COVID-19 in a much better way.
A community flourishes in a faster and efficient way when both men and women work together for its betterment unbiased and irrespective of any discriminations. However, measures and steps should be taken at governmental level to set-up and establish organizations that can help eradicate these rapidly increasing disparities from the society. Women now must take a stand for the women yet to come. It’s either now or never!
Contributed by:
Mahrukh Shahid