If women wait for men to grant them gender equity, they will still be waiting 10,000 years from now. It is up to women to take the initiative, to educate themselves and demand equity.
One issue that is holding the world back from embracing gender equality is the negative self-image of women, a self-image that is certainly understandable given our history and the exigencies of women today. Some women feel inferior; some believe that men are the natural leaders of women; some women are just angry. The angry women who see themselves always as a victim define themselves as non-male. “The males are the enemy, and I am non-male.” This denies the fundamental unity of the human race. It also reinforces the idea that men are powerful.
Alternatively, when a woman sees herself, not as a victim, but as she truly is, she will celebrate herself as an instantiation of a long line of spiritual leaders who have struggled to raise humanity up, one child at a time, one village at a time, from the bickering and egotism of war-mongering males to an enlightened society that values cooperation and compassion. She is a thinker and an actor—the catalyst for that future society where scientific and material progress will go hand in hand with a growing consciousness of the oneness of humanity, eventually achieving the spiritual destiny that will blossom in a golden age of human civilization.
In the Buddhist writings, there is this interesting statement about the essential unity of the human race:
When you cling to a hairbreadth of distinction, heaven and earth are set apart.(1)
What progressive women are doing today is quite difficult. While maintaining a positive attitude about themselves—and compassion for the misogynists who are trying to hold them back—they are:
- consciously removing the male-supremacy glasses that distort the vision of reality for both women and men while insisting that men throw the glasses away too;
- insisting on equal rights under the law, including education, employment, government service and protection again violence;
- in every culture on the planet, demanding new laws to expand their rights until they are treated as the equals of men;
- striving to educate themselves and achieve their professional goals, overcoming the resistance of men and women who believe that a woman’s place is only in the home;
- teaching their sons—especially their sons!—and daughters about the equality of women and men so the ignorance of sexism dies with the current generations;
- educating older people so superstitious customs like female genital mutilation end immediately.
Women will achieve their equal rights, and they will lead humanity to a compassionate future. If you are a deist, know that this is God’s will. If you are not a deist, then know that this is the unstoppable flow of the universe. Either way, you are on the right side of history.
Thanks for reading,
Ron
(1) Seng-T’san, The Mind of Absolute Trust. a poem available on many websites.
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