From time immemorial, we have thought within the framework of the stereotype that a woman is the keeper of the hearth, who must cook food, look after children, and do laundry. A man is a breadwinner who earns money and protects his family. What if we imagine that a woman is in a leadership position, and a man is raising a child by taking maternity leave? Now, this is quite a common phenomenon in the society! In the Middle Ages, a woman was given a modest place in the social hierarchy. But time passes, and now a woman is an independent person with authority and legal capacity.
The countries consisted of the top five of the above rating, at the heart of building a modern society, are guided by the idea of the value of each individual of any gender, age, religion, ethnic origin, and sexual orientation. The implementation of this principle is ensured by the policy of equal rights for men and women pursued in the country. The following provisions are common to all countries: ensuring equal access to education for men and women, the right to professional activity in all areas and the right to inviolability of the person, protection from violence, and discrimination based on gender.
The Status
The equal legal status allows all citizens to take an equal part in various aspects of society as a whole, which positively affects its progress. In any society, there is a certain trend, it usually shows a connection: the higher the gender equality, the more the poverty rate decreases. The highest standard of living is in those countries where the policy in the field of gender equality is developed.
One of the most significant human rights is gender equality. Gender equality means that a man and a woman are in an equal position in terms of their opportunities and abilities to participate in politics, the economy, culture, the public, and the social sphere of life. Today, no one is surprised when there are women in parliament, on the football field, in taxis, in professorships. But some hundred or two hundred years ago, such a picture would have been hard to imagine.
What Restrictions Have Existed for Women in History?
How did they fight for their rights and which states were the first to make a revolution in women’s rights? In the Middle Ages and Modern times, philosophers and scientists formed evidence that many rights are natural. However, many of them were drawn in the other direction: it involves that the existing way of life speaks of the naturalness of a separate set of rights for men, separately for women. At last, we are different, which means that the set of rights should be dissimilar. Historians dealing with women’s rights note that the First World War played a major role in securing their rights in legislation. While men fought, it was women who saved production, for which the governments of varied countries were forced to make concessions to them.
In 1979, the Charter of the United Nations was the first global treaty to proclaim equality between men and women. The adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has become one of the most significant results in the history of the struggle for equality.
How Have the Equality Amendments Affected Women’s Lives?
This brought about many changes in society. Women were given a wide range of jobs with salaries comparable to those of men, the right to file for divorce, the right to have control over their bodies, and the right to decide what medical intervention is acceptable.
The greatest impact of these changes was noted in the field of education. Especially in terms of equalizing the rights to access to quality education for girls and boys, as well as increasing the literacy of the younger generation in third world countries. In the health sector, there has been a decrease in the number of maternal deaths during childbirth. As a result, the average life expectancy of a woman has increased significantly.
The indicator of economically active women has increased in labor activity. Also, the laws of many countries have changed in the direction of strengthening the protection of women from domestic violence, harassment in the workplace. A hundred years ago, families had an average of 8 children. It was believed that the more children, the easier it would be to cope with household chores and chores. They were not particularly fond of raising children but immediately harnessed them to work, not to mention a happy, bright childhood. In wealthy families, it was customary to keep a governess, on whose shoulders the care of children was placed. The transition from a large family to a small one allowed a woman not only to engage in self-realization but also to pay maximum attention to children, to take an active part in their upbringing and development.
Until now, there is a stereotype that the house lies entirely on the shoulders of a woman, and a man should not have anything to do with it. This is not entirely fair, so the tasks of the 21st century are the desire to achieve greater participation of fathers in the upbringing of children, an equal distribution of household responsibilities, and partnerships between spouses. It is important to remember that in a relationship there are not only rights but also obligations. Marriage equality is possible if the social position and investments of each of the partners in the joint well-being are approximately the same.
Bottom Line
Unfortunately, we begin to think about issues of gender equality only when someone, by their actions, words, or decisions, denies this obvious fact. And it is impossible to re-educate a formed personality, with its beliefs and stereotypes. Our range of responsibility is ourselves and our children. As a consequence, it’s in this context that the influence of education in the spirit of gender equality is revealed. Eventually, the kind of people we educate will find out the world in which we will live.