According to Independent, two-thirds of the illiterate adults in the world are women. This statistic has been the same for the last 20 years. Only one in five parliamentary seats in the world are held by women, and even less than 4% of CEOs worldwide are female. Parliamentary and corporate power and the ability to shape a country and economy are some of the highest forms of power you can have. Without representation in these areas, the laws and norms that govern our countries still remain quietly beneficial to men.
Along with this, one in three women still experience some form of physical or sexual abuse from men, at the current rate it will take 118 years to close the gender pay gap, and, according to a study published by Psychology Women Quarterly, all women are still met with gender stereotypes that haven’t changed since the study was started in 1980.
I’m the first person to run away from the term feminist just because of the negative connotations associated with it. But the fact that women that want to fight for their rights are deemed aggressive, man-hating and unladylike is in itself a form of male hegemony. There is no rational argument for why women shouldn’t have fundamental rights such as education, political and economic power, and physical, emotional and intellectual respect.
Women are capable of so many things and of being valuable to society. This year’s event focused on celebrating the ambitions and achievements of women and also how we can accelerate equality for women. Some of the suggestions made involved men and women signing a “pledge for parity by 2030”, having honest conversations with each other about sexuality, reproduction, paternity rights, and the right to choose these, educating children on feminism and increasing female representation in academic curriculums, and starting gender equality campaigns addressed to those already in power, urging them to facilitate female development that will equip and launch women into roles that are typically dominated by men.
Maybe these things seem rather big, but each small contribution will help. As we are at an institution of higher learning, all of these suggestions are possible to implement when the right roleplayers take up the responsibility. We are all roleplayers to some degree and in some area. The question now is: will you?
This is our last edition for the quarter. Perdeby will be back after the break. Until then, you can keep up-to-date with campus news on our website (www.perdeby.co.za) or on our Twitter and Facebook feeds.
Have a fantastic break. I hope you return a refreshed person, ready to tackle quarter two.
Michal
