Despite significant scientific and technological advancement, we humans continue to live in gendered societies, in which one gender controls and dictates over the others. Patriarchy plagues civilization. Biological disparities between men have been most conveniently utilized to justify the subjugation of women. A woman's role is viewed as being limited to being a kid bearing and rearer, as well as a homemaker. While a result, it is more likely that women will be trapped to the four walls of their houses as the world stagnates - economically and socially. As a result, women are living in dreadful conditions. They have been excluded from fuller engagement in the business and politics, which only serves to propagate the illusion that women are somehow inferior to males.
It is shocking to realize that only a century ago, after a long struggle, women obtained the most basic rights - the right to vote in New Zealand (1897). Their disengagement from politics and society in general has taken numerous manifestations.
What Is The Condition In India?
"Cradle to Grave" affects women. To begin with, most parents' desire for a child is guided by a notion of son-meta preference. As a result, there are horrifying examples of female infanticide and unwanted girls who are denied basic nutrition and education. In India, for example, 50% of all adolescent girls and women are anemic!
In India, males have a 16% point advantage over females in literacy. This maintains lower gross enrollment ratios at higher education levels, as well as a lack of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines.
This handicap, or "forced handicap," results in a lack of proper skills and, as a result, low labor-force participation and income. According to a UNESCO report, 70% of the world's impoverished are females, indicating a tendency of feminization of poverty.
Women have been the target of violence and harassment in a variety of forms, including domestic violence by an alcoholic male, marital rape, stalking, and, more recently, cyberbullying and rape threats. For women in the lower socioeconomic strata, the situation deteriorates.
Direct Impact
All of the aforementioned deprecations are not natural, but have a societal root cause that lays in the world's own patriarchal institutions and the weights of neocolonialism.
Science demonstrates how a hungry woman gives birth to stunted, wasted, and undernourished kids.
This has an immediate influence on the economy and labor productivity. According to former IMF chief Christine Lagarde, India's lack of gender parity has cost us a 26% reduction in potential GDP.
The lack of a female voice in our parliamentary chambers undermines democracy's credibility and results in laws that are indifferent to the interests of half of our population.
Where Did We Go Wrong?
In today's environment, when we face the onslaught of COVID-19, female-led governments have been praised around the world for choosing "truth over fiction" and "science over propaganda," therefore flattening the curve much earlier. Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Angela Merkel of Germany are only two examples.
More than anything else, today's world suffers from a "moral deficiency." A world ripped apart by hatred and falsehood, reductive and restricted nationalism, and xenophobia. This is a manifestation of a world that has long ignored the voice of women who may help to make the globe and society more compassionate, responsible, and ethical.
Way Forward
So, how do we proceed from here? How can we ensure an equal society for women, and thereby the global well-being? Because the issues at hand are numerous, the solution must be multi-dimensional.
To begin, if we are to grow, there must be an attitude shift, a "mindset revolution." Patriarchy must be eradicated from all domains, including the business, politics, education, health, families, and our own minds.
Second, we must supplement our efforts with legal and institutional measures. There is a need for harsher regulations against crimes against women, such as infanticide, child marriage, dowry, bullying, cyber threats, and rape. More importantly, we must overhaul our criminal jurisprudence to make it more gender-sensitive and put the legislative mechanisms in place.
Tags:
women empowerment, biological differences, entrepreneurs
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