Will the gender gap close soon?
Nowhere in the world is there more gender equality than in Iceland, according to the global gender gap index by the World Economic Forum. FILE PHOTO.
It seems that Iceland is becoming one of the most interesting places to live in as a woman. It ranks high among the countries that fight for equality between men and women, and it’s on the way to be among the first to set a legislation that demands equal pay for women and men.
This may not mean much to a world that is being dragged in an ocean of problems, disasters, wars and catastrophes. If we understand that our current world is being governed on unequal gender basis, we will realise that when half of humanity is not fully involved in vital, decision-making levels, the outcome equals the input, imbalanced.
Back in the day
The problem dates back to stone ages when men’s physical capacity helped them to be the hunters, hence they gained the upper hand status. Thousands of years later, tens of prophets and messengers of God edified humanity with Divine teachings, and slowly directed them towards a more balanced world, but are we there yet?
One of the hindrances towards a true understanding of the principle of equality, is in fact because we are still looking at gender issues in a physical way. While it is in fact a very spiritual matter, related to human soul, remember soul has no gender.
Not only men, women too should understand this principle and try to apply it in their lives, especially when they are bestowed with the bounty of becoming mothers, the first educators of children. The fact that we are not very close to equality in our world of today, it is a clear sign that women themselves are lagging in their understanding of what it truly means to be equal to men.
Often, the same women who voice their concern, sometimes in very harsh tones, in conferences and gatherings aiming at closing the big gender gap that exists today, forget to practice what they preach.
While at home, they treat their sons and daughters with inequality. Governed by very old and expired society norms, they too fall in the trap of elevating the status of their sons to that of their daughters, oblivious of the fact they are perpetuating these norms that are the root cause of problems.
What religion says
It is interesting that when people talk about women reaching the same status as men, and label that as equality, they assume that men have reached what is destined for them.
The Baha’i, the latest religion in the world, that has the equality of men and women as one of its fundamental teachings for today, states otherwise. In one of its writings we read: “As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs”
In a disturbed world where according to the latest news, we are going back to slave markets where human beings are sold to the highest bidder, slogans and banners are no longer enough, it is time for a swift recalculation of priorities, time for action.
Back then…
In 1975, the first universal women’s strike took place in Iceland and women walked out of their workplaces and homes, leaving colleagues and family members to fend for themselves. Their aim was to show how undervalued yet valuable their contribution to society was. In 2010, with the problem persisting, women pointed out that not enough measures had been taken to close the pay gap. A similar strike was organised, with women leaving their workplaces at 2.25pm. This marked how long men would need to spend at work each day in order to earn equal pay to a woman. Internet
