‘A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day,
which is an exclusively masculine society,
with laws framed by men and with a judicial system
that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view’
– Henrik Ibsen
Ibsen was a man ahead of his time, having a modern outlook upon society, and understanding the issues almost a century ahead of his time. To a certain extent, this quote by him still holds true to this very day, where prejudice, sexism, and inequality are frequently visited topics. Although women’s rights have progressed a lot since the late 19th Century, there are still unresolved issues, somehow rooted into the brains and hearts of conservative males, brought upon by tradition, religion, and belief systems.
In the United States alone, a country admired for its liberalist views, the pay gap between males and females are still at 20%, which is unjust considering the sacrifices everyone makes for their work.
However, the United States and its pay gap issues are just a fraction of the problems that women face on a global level. Gender equality, as you tend to go East, decreases, due to religion. Muslim traditions are very limiting for women. Other prospects besides cooking, cleaning and tending to the children are rare in this religion.
‘Women had been treated as possessions of their husbands; Islamic law made the education of girls a sacred duty and gave women the right to own and inherit property. The Taliban, with its fanatical subjugation of the female sex, occupies an extreme, but it nevertheless belongs on a continuum that includes, not so far down the line, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and the relatively moderate states of Egypt and Jordan.’
– Time Magazine
This post really shows the main issues causing gender inequality. This post reminded me of religion and how it affects gender inequality. I was also unaware that the pay gap between women and men were 20% in America. Since America has released laws, allowing transexual and being more open
minded towards every gender, I did not expect the pay gap to be this high. This is indeed inconsiderate if you think about the time and effort each gender puts into their work. Women deserve the same amount of pay as men if they work the same time as men. My question now is why do they have such laws? Could it be Trump? Do most people in America believe women do not deserve the same pay as men? This post made me think deeper into what the real issue is which is causing gender inequality. I had not thought about religion and old traditions which could affect gender inequality. Maybe the real issue women are facing are not laws, but the traditions and religions affecting the law.