If you’re a woman in this day and age, you’re lucky.
You can vote. You can dress however you want. You can get higher education. You can keep your job if you’re pregnant. You can own property. You can take legal action against workplace sexual harassment. You can travel without a male guardian. You can join the military. You can get a credit card in your own name. You can keep your maiden name. You can decide not to have sex with your husband.
These are all the things women couldn’t do nearly 150 years ago.
In the United States, we have Susan B. Anthony (note that there are others, too) to thank.
The heroine who dared to defy
In 1872, Susan B. Anthony walked into a voting booth in Rochester, New York, and cast her ballot, knowing full well that it was illegal for women to vote.
She was arrested, went to trial, and fined $100, which she refused to pay.
It was a national spectacle, highlighting the absurdity and sheer injustice of denying half the population the right to vote — based on gender.
Her single act of defiance became a movement that eventually led to the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in 1920.
It got the ball rolling.
It galvanized women to tackle other inequalities, such as reproductive rights, equal pay, employment opportunities, and education.
My Nepali grandma
didn’t know how to read because she never got an education. She married at 14 and gave birth to her first son at 15. She went on to have four more children before the age of 21.
Not going to school — that was her biggest regret. She was fascinated by books. I would read to her, and her eyes would light up like a little girl.
She made sure all five of her children—two boys and three girls—graduated from school regardless of their gender.
It was a given that I’d go to college. My two sisters did, too. One went on to graduate school.
We’re privileged.
In September 2021, Afghan girls over the age of 12 were banned by the Taliban from returning to school. Almost three years later, they’re still not allowed.
Then, in December 2022, university education for women was suspended until “further notice.”
Last August, the Taliban even stopped 100 women from boarding a plane for the United Arab Emirates to study on an academic scholarship.
Taliban didn’t ban the men, though — they’re smart.
By not educating women, they know women will be powerless. They’d be dependent on men for financial support like my grandma, which guarantees they won’t leave.
They’d be obedient, submissive, and shut the fuck up.
Education is paramount, especially for women. It guarantees a life free from the shackles of patriarchy.
My dad knew this, too. He said college was a must for all three of his daughters, no questions asked.
So what are women in the Western world fighting for when we have all the privileges — including education — that a man has?
Still ways to go
Our reproductive rights
The first obvious one is the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in June 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has negatively affected many women.
A woman in Texas almost died from sepsis because she couldn’t get an abortion.
Other than near-fatal cases, the bottom line is this — it’s none of anyone’s business, including the government, what we do with our bodies.
No one can or should force me to have a baby I don’t want, regardless of the circumstances. How is that good for the baby? Or for me?
It’s about our choice to do what we want with our bodies.
A few weeks ago, the Alabama Supreme Court ruling declared embryos created through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) are considered children.
What this means for IVF is unknown, but we know that two weeks after this decision, at least three major IVF clinics decided to close down due to perceived liability.
And many have paused IVF treatments, giving a blow to hopeful patients.
Two weeks later, Alabama lawmakers passed legislation to protect in vitro fertilization providers from civil and criminal liability.
Nevertheless, the issue of embryos being considered as a person remains unresolved, leaving patients in Alabama in a state of legal uncertainty regarding their options.
For women trying to conceive through IVF, this has stripped away their power, voice, and freedom.
Kinda sounds like the Taliban regime, doesn’t it?
What a travesty in a country that is supposed to be the gold standard in democracy.
Women in leadership
In a Pew Research Center survey on women and leadership, most Americans say women are “indistinguishable” from men in terms of leadership traits such as “intelligence and capacity for innovation.”
And many say women are stronger when it comes to being “compassionate and organized leaders.”
But then, why are women still vastly underrepresented in high-ranking positions?
Well, 40% of Americans say the double standard is at play. That women have to jump through more hoops and prove themselves way more than men do just to get a shot at a leadership position.
There’s also how women are perceived as women leaders. Men are respected for being demanding, but women aren’t.
I know this firsthand.
I used to be the chief editor of a women’s magazine in Myanmar. I was considered “difficult” by my subordinates.
My editors were constantly late for deadlines, forcing my graphic designer and me to scramble way past midnight to make the publisher’s deadline. If I wasn’t strict, there would be no magazine.
My boss was stern, but the employees respected his firmness, but I was bitchy. I lost friendships with my female colleagues over it.
Imagine that — just because you’re commanding and take no bullshit excuses.
Women can’t win. If we ask for what we deserve, we’re difficult. If we complain, we’re nagging. If we raise our voices, we’re bossy.
That’s not just my opinion.
Women “have to choose between friendship or leadership,” says former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in this brilliant Ted Talk on why women don’t reach top-level positions. I highly recommend watching it.
This article in the Harvard Business Review dissects why “for centuries, there have been broad, cultural biases against women.”
The author says, “Stereotypes die slowly.” I can’t agree more.
Corporate America is still not ready for women to be in charge. And for an influential country, there sure aren’t enough women in high places.
In 2022, women in the U.S. ran only 10% of Fortune 500 companies.
Latest statistics show women make up 27% of Congress, which is only 144 of 539 seats. That means men still hold the majority of the Congress, at 73%.
As of 2023, women serve as the heads of government in only 13 of the 193 United Nations member states.
That’s way too many men making laws for us, even laws that affect women only. When that happens, it’s not going to reflect the will of women, is it?
That’s the issue.
Well, no country has yet achieved full gender parity, even Nordic countries that make up four of the five most gender equal countries in the world.
Iceland has had a woman as either president or prime minister for 20 of the last 36 years. The United States has yet to see a women president, although we had our first women vice president in the last election.
In Iceland’s 2016 parliamentary election, 30 women were elected out of the 63 seats, increasing the number of females in the Alþingi (their parliament) to over 47%.
That’s impressive.
But globally, progress in gender equality in politics is so slow that the World Economic Forum predicts the gender gap will not close for another 136 years.
I won’t be around to celebrate it.
My son won’t either, but perhaps the generation after him — hopefully.
The world was completely different for women 150 years ago — that’s not that long ago. Perhaps global gender parity in 137 years is not that long, either?
Things we now take for granted are only possible because of women who fought for our rights to do so.
That’s the reason why we should care about International Women’s Day. It’s time to honor the women who made it possible for us to enjoy our freedom, the freedom we take for granted.
Although we still have ways to go, we must pave the way for girls and women trailing behind us, just like the women who did that for us.
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