Written By: Raja Bahar Khan Soomro
What is the Gender Gap Issue?
The differences among men, women, and she-male (transgender) on the basis of social, political, cultural, intellectual, economic and political disparity are termed as gender gap. It is also considered as discrimination of the rights of equality among men and women and for that various components are blamed as the main cause of this gender gap. Most of the religions including Islam have also been considered as one of the main reasons behind gender gap.
However so called liberal and atheist critics themselves are not very much clear and specific about the gender gap as they do not highlight that which type of gender gap i.e., physical, biological, mental, rational, moral and attitudinal gap between men and women, they are talking about? In this blog we will consider all the dimensions and on the basis of intellectual and factual argument conclude our viewpoint that whether the gender gap is a reality or a myth.
When did Gender Gap Movement Start?
There isn’t any scientific or social or even political theory that exists regarding gap or inequality rather it is taken as a slogan and a movement mainly launched and propagated by various groups of feminists all over the globe. In fact this trend started in 1980s mainly starting from western countries and now it is gaining some popularity and grounds in different parts of the world.
In broader terms it is a movement for freedom of women as feminists consider themselves that they are living in a male dominant society where their rights are being denied and women are being forced and oppressed to compromise their rights. In this regard this article blog has been divided into different sub-themes in order to understand it properly that whether gender gap is a reality or a myth. Following sub-themes are discussed here.
1. What is the Physical Gender Gap Issue?
t is It is a scientifically proven statement that men and women are significantly different from each other. Man is ideal for all sorts of hard work inside fields, mountains, forests and deserts. Man mostly performs work inside heavy industries, construction industry and warfare etc.
W Whereas, a woman is ideal for doing work inside home, cooking, nurturing and nourishing children, home decoration, embroidery, arts and crafts etc. the physical structure and nature of man and woman is not a gap rather it makes them significant and unique from each other and defines their specific roles to smoothen the daily life activities and duties.
2. What is a Biological Gender Gap Issue?
If we observe the biological structure of man and woman from scientific point of view it is evident that man cannot give birth to their offspring rather this unique quality lies in the very biological structure of a woman including feeding and looking after the newborn ones till a specific age period.
In fact it is also the law of nature as when we see other living creatures (species) including birds, animals, reptiles and insects etc. we find that female creatures either lay eggs or give birth to their young ones including taking care of them.
3. What is a Social Gender Gap Issue?
It is a reality that there exist different human societies in the world. They have their own social priorities hence it is none of the business of any one society to dictate and dominate any other societies rather let them evolve with the passage of time by themselves. It is a fact that woman gets less paid as compared to man for the same job and job nature which is a gap that prevails in all the societies including advanced societies of the world.
4. What is Political Gender Gap Issue?
Since early human civilizations, we have been observing that women get fewer opportunities in the political arena. But in today’s modern human societies this trend is changing quite rapidly. Again it depends on different societies and their priorities where women whether get equal opportunities for politics or not.
On the other hand in politics it is seen that women are comparatively less corrupt to men. In the third world countries societies are still under transition period therefore it is their problem and concern that whether they let women to participate into politics or not. Other societies just criticize them but can’t force them to do so.
5. What is a Cultural Gender Gap Issue?
Cultural dynamics is a very vast and huge field. There exist different but unique human cultures throughout the world. Most of the cultures have strong bonding with different religions and hence people are sentimentally attached to their specific cultures. Even if we consider Pakistan in different cultural contexts, we find that every region and province has its own specific culture which makes them unique from each other.
As culture is basically the way of life, therefore one can’t interfere into it. We find that some cultures even give more respect to women as compared to men while in certain cultures we see that even adultery and having sexual life partner without marriage is common in them. Again if they accept it and allow them no one should have any issue with them. Similarly if any culture declares adultery as a social evil, it is again their basic right to practice what they believe in.
6. What is an Attitudinal Gender Gap Issue?
This gender gap includes economic, health, education and access to basic rights to women. There is no any doubt that women must have equal economic, health and education opportunities. In fact no any country can be a prosperous and developed country without educating their women. Similarly no country will have a healthy nation without healthy women.
According to World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender Gap Report, 2017” third world and developing countries are far behind in terms of access to education and health to women. Same is the condition in Pakistan which stands at the bottom 10 countries out of 144 countries in terms of educating and providing better health opportunities to women. This shows a very negative attitude of our country as far as treating women as equal human beings.
7. What is the Moral Gender Gap Issue?
Islam is the greatest preacher of moral gender rights. Islam not only forbids any type of violence against women but also insists about the basic rights of women like education, economics as well as fair and equal treating. In fact mother has the most dignified status in Islam. Not only has that but Islam also warned men over the rights of their wives.
Therefore, it must be clear cut approach and understanding of men that women are morally equal to them and what make them different from each other are their certain physical and biological duties which are already discussed above.
8. What is the Mental & Rational Gender Gap Issue?
By no, means are women different from men in terms of their mental and rational approach. Women have also got the same mental and rational capabilities as compared to those of men. In fact in certain cases women are more mentally and rationally capable than men. For example women are best in teaching at early and primary levels in education, they are more patient as compared to men, they convert homes a better place of rest and calmness for men and above all women are best nurses to take care of the men.
Similarly, in today’s advanced world we find that women are standing as shoulder to shoulder with men in every profession and walk of life. Today we find women being astronauts, fighter pilots, journalists, media anchors, sportswomen, judges, lawyers, engineers, doctors, teachers, businesswomen, CEOs, politicians and social workers etc. Therefore there should be no any mental and rational gap between men and women.
Conclusion
From the above-discussed sub-themes, we can conclude that in some cases gender gap is a myth while in some cases it is a reality. However we can’t blame any religion including Islam, human societies or cultures rather it is based on our personal actions, attitudes and understandings. It is debatable and therefore it must be discussed logically, rationally and factually rather intentionally and with aims to dictate, discriminate or even demoralise others.
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