‘For most of history, anonymous was a woman.’ The relevance of the words Virginia Woolf spoke decades ago is gloriously alive even today. Women have always been portrayed as weak, fragile porcelain dolls who are only capable of making food and looking after children. Their purpose is deemed to be to serve men-their brothers and fathers when they were little girls and their husbands when they get married. How tragic it is to think that women-who can GROW a human in their body, women-who go through days of menstrual pain, women, who continue to be taunted by society yet rise above it all; are seen as damsels in distress who need a prince to save them.
What is more appalling is that these ignorant stereotypes are ingrained into the tender minds of young children and it takes a lot of time to wash them out. Even in movies and music videos, women have been objectified time and again, making a huge chunk of the population of the world think that it is okay to hoot at a woman walking down the street, it is okay to constantly try to woo her even if she feels uncomfortable. There are so many movies in which the protagonist pursues his lady love again and again, despite her saying no. And in the end? She finally gives in to the pleas of the main character, making people believe that a woman’s no is equal to a cry for attention.
How ridiculous and preposterous! Such prejudice starts in a woman’s, or a man’s life too for that matter, the moment they take their first breath. From the moment they are born, people expect men to be tough and to always suppress their emotions and for women to cook and clean and let everyone dominate them. A sad but actual fact is that 1 in 5 women are bound to get raped in their life. More horrifying is the fact that out of 1000 sexual assaults, 995 perpetrators will walk free. A survey conducted by the United Nations stated that globally, for every dollar a man makes, women earn 77 cents.
Every day, women face domestic violence, abuse, and unequal treatment in their homes and workplaces. As per the report given by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, 71 percent of all human trafficking victims are women. Every day, question marks are put on their capabilities, hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Why? Just because they’re women. Just because they don’t have the same reproductive organs as men. One could go on and on about the extremity of the mistreatment faced by women, but we, as the world’s future leaders, should look for ways to eradicate inequality. Women empowerment, or the ability by which women have control over their lives and choices, is the way through which we can put an end to inequality. And we need to start right from the time when girls and boys come out of the womb. Yes! Women empowerment includes men too! Teaching boys and girls to respect each other regardless of if they like dolls, the color pink or toy cars is very necessary and should be inculcated in every kid.
From a young age itself, we need to teach boys and girls to break from the confines of gender stereotypes by letting them do what they like, regardless of people thinking of it as ‘too feminine’, ‘girly’, or ‘manly’. Kids should be taught about the concept of consent-that a “no” means a “no”- it needs no further explanation.
Schools and workplaces should work towards creating an environment where women feel safe, secure, and motivated to do better. We all need to work towards a world where women aren’t put down because they’re women, where men can express their feelings openly without being mocked, where women earn the same as men, and most of all; a world where no one is shamed for being who they are.
Authored By
Sanskriti Gautam
