Focus: Women’s rights

On January 21, millions of women in the US and around the world marched in solidarity for their rights. In the US alone, 3.5 million people, both men and women, were on the streets trying to alter people’s lives. In the 21st Century, do women still not have equal rights? Is it only possible to achieve equal rights if women stood together? Gulf News readers debate.

Whether women have equal rights or not would depend on what country you are focusing on, because it differs. Women are put down in many ways and in many situations, we become the target. Things are much better than what they used to be, but we as women need to stand up for each other. I say that because I am part of a group on Facebook dedicated to women empowerment. It is being run by a woman and has over 10,000 female members. If one woman shares an issue, every member stands up to help out. There are people from different backgrounds and professions on the group and if one is facing a situation in life that may have risen due to her gender, we all stand together. This group, based in Pakistan, shows that women have evolved, but more needs to be done by us and we’re not just there yet. At my workplace, my manager is a woman and is extremely hard working. She encourages me to try different things and push harder. If there’s an issue, she is devoted to resolving it. Women are becoming more involved, even at the government level, including in the UAE. But, one thing I have noticed is that we sometimes use our gender to our advantage and ask men to do certain tasks. Seeing that we’re women, they step in to help out. And, I have come across women who claim to have a bad relationship with their bosses if they are also women. There is a lot of competition in the modern world and everyone wants to get ahead. But, if one woman stands for something and another opposes it, then we will not get anywhere. Every person has different views, but we need to try to stand together and make things work out for our benefit.

Syeda Mahin Jafri

Banker based in Dubai

I think I would like to believe that women have equal rights. But, there is still a difference, especially when it comes to societal perspective. My mum is now a homemaker, but all her life, she worked as a teacher. That is a typical job that women were expected to have back then. My father was in agriculture and he worked in a different emirate altogether. Society still expects a man to study and work. When walking in a mall, women are asked to not call for attention. We are still expected to come home early, while a man could be out all night. So, society has not given us an equal status. At work, things are improving. Ever since I started working, my position has been one that can be filled by a man or woman. It was never gender specific. My job requires a lot of travelling, and people would assume it’s something only a man can do. But, there I am carrying my laptop, projector and other equipment and travelling long distances and managing well. But, despite all that, I believe that equal rights for women can only be possible if we stand up for each other. My boss is a woman and it is really nice to work with her. But, she is an exception. From what I have noticed, women bosses are usually nasty towards other women and get along just fine with men associates. I think there’s a factor of competition that remains unconsciously. We are trying to prove that we are better and this doesn’t kick in with someone of the opposite gender because we assume we’re not in the same race. Even though we may say we’re not that way, the competitive nature is inherited. This could only change if we deal with each other as individuals, regardless of gender and race. Give a person a chance before you judge him or her. If you form an opinion based on a person’s gender, the negativity will never disappear even after you get to know him or her.

Laila Al Nahawi

A senior training specialist based in Dubai.

The concept of equal rights for women is wrong, in my opinion. I personally do not believe that men and women are equal. Nature has decided the rights of both according to their characteristics. So, I don’t believe in ‘equal rights’ and instead think that women should be given only women’s rights.

If we think about the rights of men and women, we will find that in some parts of the world or some aspects of life, men have been given more rights than women, while in other parts women have more rights than men. The problem rises when the men do not respect the rights of the women or the women demand more than their rights.

Most of the organisations are working to ensure equal rights for both men and women, but this I feel is unfortunately just a pretence, which is run by those women who demand more than their rights. They not only want to be like a man, but they want to be superior than them. Instead of raising their voice for women’s education and more rights, the voice is just raised for personal benefits. This will not solve the problem for women who are suffering due to the actions of cruel, uneducated men who are not giving them even basic rights of humanity.

I don’t believe that this problem will be solved if women stand together, as in this issue it’s necessary that both men and women stand together and ensure that each will get their full rights, which is decided by Nature and not by the women’s organisation or uneducated men.

Abood Al Romancy

Entrepreneur based in Abu Dhabi.

Globally, if we view the status of women, we cannot disagree that even in the 21st century women do not have equal rights. On this journey, all cultures and societies have come a long way and have granted far more rights to women in the present than ever in the past. However, there is a lot of unfinished work. As per the constitution of most countries, in principal equal rights have been deemed to be granted to women. However, in practice, they are not, be it at home, in society or at work.

At the social front, it may be owing to conventional patriarchal mindsets leading to gender discrimination or age-old biases related to familial responsibilities. At work, it may be due to the prevailing stereotypes or gender biases leading to glass ceilings or pay discrimination. A gamut of reasons and issues contribute to the scenarios.

A systemic approach for advancement of women is the need of the hour. Rights of women need to be conscientiously nurtured from the grass root levels. Encouragement in education and jobs, targeted career advancement initiatives, along with policies oriented for women’s needs need to be pursued. A holistic approach needs to be adopted for working at eradicating the social and cultural biases against women and sensitising the society positively on providing equal opportunities.

Solidarity and standing together by women would help in the cause. But, this is not the only way to make it possible. Women need to be trained to have a self-belief in their abilities. They need to identify and address all their internal barriers, which hold them back or limit their options. Women who are proven to have a high level of emotional intelligence, can create and sustain appropriate support networks. Thus, women from all walks of life can become aware, strong and ambitious beings. An emancipated society is necessary, which is women and men, hand in hand, standing together on this.

Sunita Dutta

Lead electrical engineer based in Abu Dhabi.