Clearly, You Must Not Know Our Women

Equality, in all its forms, has been a topic of intense debate. Yet, even though fantastic steps have been made in the right direction, we live in a world that still espouses inequality. Gender equality—women’s rights, empowerment of women—has been one of the areas that has made some of the greatest leaps towards this goal of equal rights, treatment, and opportunity; however, deep-rooted cultural beliefs sustain gender inequality. Yet women are still much more powerful than they let themselves be. What is needed is a continuation of what has been started. Simply because great strides have been made in the right direction does not mean that it has ceased to be a direction still worth heading towards, a goal still worth achieving, a necessity still worth fighting for.

Even if men were, in our future, to be the only leaders, the fact of the matter is that nearly every man was raised by a woman. Again, hypothetically, even if women never become the leaders in our world, they historically have a responsibility to our world—the responsibility to raise those leaders of our future into the type of men they want to lead. The future of our world belongs to the youth—man and woman—and it is up to them to lead our countries, feed the world, and to fight for peace when we are gone. Who is it that will teach them to be moral or immoral, just or unjust, steadfast or corruptible? It is they who raised them: most of the time, a woman.

“As the bearers of the lives that foster the growth of society, it is therefore evident that society itself is dependent upon those same women.” –T. Hoffman

In the past it has been the right to vote, the right to equal treatment before employers, the right to never have these rights denied them because of their gender. In 1920 the XIX Amendment was ratified becoming part of our Constitution affirming that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex;” and in 1972 the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) was passed by Congress affirming “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on the basis of sex” (**see note at end of article). The women’s movement, spearheaded by organizations such as NOW (National Organization for Women), has certainly been one marked by success—and rightly so.

However, what is to be done now—where have all the feminine soldiers gone? The answer is: absolutely nowhere! They are all around us, make up over 50% of our country’s (and world’s) population, they are in our workplaces and in our houses, they are teaching our children and they are deciding our futures, they may even be reading this blog. Whoever and wherever you are, my beautiful “Feminine Mystiques” (check out Betty Friedan, 1963), my loving demonstrators of tenderness, my powerful female soldiers, understand that you are the ones who hold our future in your able and ready hands. Get up; stand up! Be what you were born to be; be the woman that you should be!

**As a side note, it should be kept in mind that the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) that was previously mentioned, although it was passed by Congress, was never fully ratified by the necessary 38 states and is, as of today, not a part of our Constitution. As of now, 35 states have ratified it, but until another three states do… it will not become the XXVIII Amendment. If you are a woman looking for a place to put your fight, don’t become a rebel without a cause (like James Dean in 1955), call you neighbors, write your senator, find out what can and should be done, and above all remember: the only one who can change your universe is you; do NOT let that which you cannot do interfere with what you know that you can do.
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
--Edward Everett (1794-1865)

For more information on gender equality and the empowerment of women, check out these sites:

Promoting gender equality
Equal rights amendment

The Spartan Woman: Strong

Xerxes: You Greeks take pride in your logic. I suggest you employ it. Consider the beautiful land you so vigorously defend. Picture it reduced to ash at my whim! Consider the fate of your women!

Leonidas: Clearly you don't know our women. I might as well have marched them up here, judging by what I've seen.