What is Gender Equality?

Happy International Women’s Day 2020!! The theme this year is “An equal world is an enabled world.” Of course, we all agree with that, don’t we? 😉 But, what exactly is “gender equality”?

I came across this very lucid and informative article shared by “UN Women” today,  and decided to summarize it. The writer names and defines the perfect gender-equal country – Equiterra! Right now, there’s no country in the world that is totally emancipated, some form of discrimination or the other exists in all countries, and the degree of discrimination varies across them. So “Equiterra” is that aspirational or “dream” condition that we all want to achieve. 🙂

Here are the main points that define it:

1) There are no “stereotypes” for women (or men) in Equiterra. They are free to choose their careers, hobbies, and lifestyles – whatever they might be. Women can choose to be astronauts, and men can choose to be cooks or nurses…..no stereotypes for either sex!

2) Domestic violence is a rare occurrence, and sexual harassment and abuse no longer exist.

3) There is no “men’s work” and “women’s work”; and there is equal pay for equal work.

4) Patriarchal ideas of gender roles and what it means to be a boy or a girl, a woman or a man, are replaced by more progressive and liberal ideas. In Equiterra, “toxic masculinity” is transformed into healthier attitudes that benefit both men and women. Men also face immense stress when they have to conform to traditional roles and stereotypes, and therefore, the suicide rates among men are in fact much higher than among women!!

5) There is gender-balanced leadership in parliaments, government institutions, companies etc. 50% of women in all the important places that matter.

6) Education is a top priority for all, and there is total freedom in the choice of fields for both sexes.

7) Freedom of expression and movement, freedom to choose your identity, and freedom to choose how many children you have, and to have control over your own body, and access to contraception, and birth control to all.

Now, we have a clear idea of what women’s equality is! So, let’s try to accomplish it! 🙂

Reference:

If you want to read the original article, here’s the link……