Increasingly, women have been establishing themselves within the realm of politics. This is highly significant given that women now have an equal voice in the running of their country that they are that they are able to compete on equal standing with men in one of the most demanding arena. Recently, Hillary Clinton came close to creating history when she ran for president of the United States. Already a role model, her campaign was a symbol of the extent to which women have become politically empowered in this day and age. This is a reality that early suffragettes could only envision and aspire towards. Today, it is taken for granted by millions of women around the globe. In truth, this is an example of true gender equality: when the right of women to political empowerment and participation has become so common-place it is almost a non-issue. Of course, there are still glass ceilings in existence as the number of women politicians still only account for a minority in most governments but these glass ceilings are cracking and may soon be rendered a thing of the past as increasing numbers of women opt to take up leadership roles in their communities.
Socially, the notion of gender equality has been key in debasing widespread assumptions and misconceptions. For example, women no longer automatically receive custody of their children during divorce proceedings. Courts are now more open to awarding custody to the father. The significance of this is two-fold. Firstly, the baseless assumption that fathers are less able parents while mothers are more capable simply on account of their gender has finally been deemed outmoded. Secondly, the misconception that all women are willing to sacrifice their careers in order to take on the challenges of single parenthood had been so prevalent that women themselves were not given a choice. Now, the responsibility of parenthood is often shared between father and mother while both are equally credited for their role in childrearing. This is indeed progress and true gender equality.
The fight for gender equality also had a positive impact on sports, a smaller but no less important arena. Until recently, gender inequality had been a mainstay in the traditional sports of tennis and golf. Now, male and female tennis players receive equal prize money in Grand Slams while last year’s British Open was a landmark event for female golfers as it was held at St Andrew’s Golf Club in Scotland. Prior to which, women had been prohibited from playing at the revered golf course, oft heralded as ‘the home of golf’. Evidently, the fight for gender equality has had widespread repercussions various fields and facets of our daily lives, both for men and women.
But that is not to say that striving for gender equality is no longer important in today’s society. In many traditional societies, gender inequality still persists. Women are often the victims of genital mutilation and honor killings and these practices are considered to be socially acceptable in these backward communities. It is imperative that the fight continue in areas where gender inequality has yet to be achieved for moral as well as practical reasons. In Bahrain, women are not given the vote and only a fraction of the female population is financially independent. This is a great waste of resources given the high literacy rate among women in Bahrain as illustrated by the fact that more than half of their university graduates are female. Of course, it is also morally abhorrent that women are not given the equal opportunities that they deserve. Hence, it can be concluded that while gender equality has largely been achieved in the developed world, it is only in the developing world that this battle is of great relevance and needs to be continued. After all, ‘women hold up half the sky’ (Mao Zedong).