On March 8th, 2016, the whole planet celebrated the International Day of Women. However, one may ask about the reasons that could gear the members of the gentle gender to participate in that precious event.
Did they achieve their objectives of being treated as equals to their male counterparts? It is too obvious that we made a great progress in our own perceptions regarding the role that they play in our societies of today. Should we be complacent with that progress?
Some men may rush to ask: “What do women want more than what they have today?
They were granted the right to vote. They got involved in all venues of politics．Nowadays, qualified women can occupy any position in governments or any other organizations. Some women became prime ministers and Hilary Clinton may end being the president of one of the most powerful nations on Earth.
Isn’t that enough? Most women would state without apprehension or hesitation “It is a good start but we have a long way to go to be regarded as equals to men”
They would boldly argue that they don’t get equal pay for accomplishing a task as effectively and efficiently as their male counterparts.
Women, everywhere, receive approximately 60 to 80 % of the salaries of their male colleagues for doing the same jobs．Women may ask “Is that fair”
There is no doubt that men and women possess different capabilities and physical attributes. Men may argue that there are fields more suitable for them and others that could be done better by women.
For example positions in nursing are occupied by women while constructions jobs are held mostly by men. Women tend to be more nurturing than their male counterparts, which qualifies them to take care of patients who are in desperate need of tenderness in their struggle to handle the challenges of being a victim of a disease.
Construction work demands a great deal of physical strength, which makes it appropriate for men.
Some women furiously questioned men’s logic for treating them as sex objects. They mention the continuous sexual harassment in the work place that they are subjected to on a daily basis.
Men would argue that some women may dress provocatively which may lead few weak men to get the wrong impression.
Objectively, both genders would agree that in comparison to the last century, societies in general had acquired reasonable attitudes in treating women and evaluating their role in the development of countries.
Most women believe that they would achieve their objectives of being treated as equals to their male partners when they have the same advantages that societies grant men．
They would like to be treated as human beings who contribute to the development of our societies．They could be immensely satisfied if they were evaluated on their intellectual capabilities instead of their physical attributes.
My article does not focus on any particular society and it is an opinion that may ruffle some feathers. However, it is your prerogative to dispute its contents.
Holding an honorary professorship from China, Sava Hassan is a Canadian author, poet and educator. He had published three books and wrote numerous articles in various topics in Canada, USA and China. For a year, he was writing an advice column for a major English magazine in China. Sava, occasionally, writes articles for several Chinese English Newspapers. He won several writing awards including four from China.