Unfair ‘Equality’

Gender equality is very prominent as every organization’s advocacy in the modern world, locally
and globally. However, when we say gender equality, many tend to initially think of empowering women,
protecting women from violence, eliminating discrimination against women, and solving other issues
pertaining solely to women. It is funny how some oftentimes do not think of men’s rights when talking
about the advocacy, yet they call it gender equality.

Let us say that this campaign becomes wholly effective in the future. All women get the same
salaries, opportunities, and jobs as men, and get fully protected by laws against violence. Imagine if on
that future, all men and women happen to be equal in number and ridiculously, an alien will come to ask
us a simple question, “Can the entire population of women on this planet lift heavier objects than all
men?” Surely, there will be a higher possibility that even the world’s biggest organization which campaigns
for gender equality will tell that men can instead of women, and that is the real problem. Even if we
empower women, and even if we achieve gender ‘equality’ through it, discrimination will still be part of
our thinking.

The ultimate thing we need to focus on to achieve a genuine gender equality is stereotyping, a
problem not just for women alone.

Surprisingly, based on scientific studies, babies, no matter what their genders are, share the same
capabilities excluding their reproductive organs. However, because of stereotyping which starts even
when we were still fetuses and our parents discover our gender, they will not dream anymore about their
baby being a boxing champ when she is a girl, and the baby has to live with it. The baby will live with things
she was taught she should do and should not do, when the truth is, she can do whatever she wants. The
baby will live pushing herself to break free from the thought that she is inferior to men, when the reality
is, no one is superior than the other.

Men can be oppressed too by the stereotypes of having their gender. Many just do not realize it.
As an example, if in case a man was accused by a woman for catcalling her, everyone will possibly believe
the woman, even if she is lying, just because she is a woman, and it is a stereotype that women are
disrespected by men rather than vice versa.

Therefore, to achieve a genuine gender equality, the solution we must do is not to raise campaigns
promoting empowerment of either gender. Rather, we must break all stereotypes to realize how big
potentials we are wasting just because of it, and so people will not live trying to fit in a box dictated by
their anatomy. If this will not be done now, even if we give same rights to all genders, the world’s
perceived equality will remain unfair because of the discrimination determined by norms and stereotypes,
and no gender definitely deserves that.