Henry Ibsen’s words spoken in the 18th century still hold a lot of meaning today in the 21st century, especially since there is news about women emerging from all walks of life to tell the tale of their life struggles, frequently. The biggest challenges that the women of today face are- Sexism and gender bias, laws surrounding their reproductive rights, domestic violence and female genital mutilation amid many others.
Today’s women face the struggle of having a lower pay rate than their male counterparts just because of their gender. Even in developed countries like Singapore, the average income generated by a male is higher than the average income generated by a female with the same qualifications.
In many countries, abortion is banned or prohibited unless the mother’s life is at risk. In these circumstances a woman has no choice but to give birth. Men do not face any sort of a challenge like this. Women around the world also face significantly higher domestic violence than men. This could also be due to the fact that they are treated like second class citizens in some parts of the world.
In some countries they are counted as only half a witness in court cases, they are only allowed to marry with the permission of a male relative, they can only go out if a male relative accompanies them, they have only recently been given the permission to drive and enter stadiums very recently, etc…
Also FGM is another challenge for the women living in some parts Africa, Asia and in the Middle east, where this practice is common. FGM is a traumatic experience for young girls, which might take years to forget and it causes a lot of physical discomfort as well. Women who have experienced FGM may have difficulty standing, sitting or walking. All in all, the whole experience is extremely scarring.
To conclude, i would say that Henry Ibsen’s quote is still very meaningful today because even though there have been improvements in the lives of women today, there is still a long way to go if we wish to create a world that is equal.