Gender Equality, Feminism & Men's Rights:

It is well known that patriarchy had ruled the world back in time and is still being found and practiced in many regions of the world, in different cultures and societies. Women were not allowed to get any kind of education up until the late 18th century. They were given the right to vote in the early 19th century.

I'd like to emphasize on two different aspects of gender equality here.

Labour force :

According to statistics in India :

Women in labour force: 27.2% [M: 78.8%]

Women in parliament: 14.5%[M: 85.5%]

Women over 25 with secondary education: 39% [M: 63.5%]

The numbers seems to be discouraging. But it is also true that women are performing outstandingly well than men if certain disciplines. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics (BLS), the following are the fields where women are dominant.

Pre School and Kindergarten [97.6%]

Dental Hygienist [97.1%]

Speech Language Pathologists[96%]

Dental Assistants [96%]

Childcare Workers[94%]

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants[94%]

Medical Records and Health Information Technicians[93.6%]

Dietitians and Nutritionists[93.1%]

Hairdressers and Cosmetologists[92.1%]

Medical Assistants[90.6%]

So why are men rarely participating in these fields of work ? is it because women are suppressing men by wanting to hire only female employees ? or is it simply that men are not interested in these fields of work ?

Enrolment of girls in higher education in India increased from 39% to 46% from 2007 to 2014, but female participation in India's labour force declined to a low of 27% in 2014 from 34% in 1999, according to a 2015 study by the International Monetary Fund.

One of the many reasons for this is that, marriage reduces the likelihood of the participation of urban women in the workforce by 17%, suggests a study examining the determinants of women's declining participation in the Indian labour force.

It is widely known that when women are pregnant, they are usually at home by claiming a maternity leave from their work places. But are women forced to be at home and so their husbands work to provide for his family ? or is it simply that they themselves choose to be at home while their husbands are providing for the family.

Watch the video below where Jordan Bernt Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto who also researches in social psychology, has to say about the participation of women in labour force and gender pay gap.

https://youtu.be/Xg2psply4no

The above video was widely spread across the internet, creating a heat of anger and hate on Cathy Newman. But watching Jordan's answers to Cathy's questions, it is clear that, psychology plays a huge role in whether or not gender equality is desirable. He says, gender equality in terms of opportunities is very much desirable and by looking at statistics, women are allowed to participate as equally as men, in all forms of disciplines.

It all comes down to the core psychological behavior of men and women in participating in different disciplines. Women are likely to take up jobs that can be a good balance between their professional and social life, whereas men are likely to sacrifice a little or more of their social life in order to compete and be on top of the work hierarchy.

When it comes to gender pay gap, there are a lot of factors to be considered. Happens that women are more agreeable than men, so men demand more pay than women for the same type of job. Other factors include, the amount of work done, whether the job is a part time of full time, overtime work, etc.

Crimes and Protection

Crimes against women are undeniable. One rape was reported every 16 minutes in India in 2019. Of over 338 thousand cases of crime reported against women in India, over 33 thousand were for rape in 2018. That year, more than 93% of rapes were committed by someone known to the victim.

According to Statistica.com, domestic violence against women, assault, religious and cultural traditions are the predominant perpetrators of endangering women's safety around the world. In 2018, India was the world's most dangerous country for women.

Photo by Joanne Adela Low from PexelsLaws exist all around the world to punish the accused accordingly, when a crime against a women is reported. But how many crime cases against women are true in its nature ?

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 38,947 rape cases were reported in India in 2016. In 10,068 cases - about a quarter - the women claimed it was rape on a false promise of marriage. In many cases, false rape accusations are simply the result of parents covering up the "shame" of an unmarried daughter having sex.

The menace of false rape cases on the pretext of one or other has been rising since the new amendment in rape law in 2013 in India. After the 2013 Criminal Law Amendment widened in scope so much so that mere statement of a victim of rape may bring the alleged accused behind the bar.

This is leading to increased number of false rape cases being filed against innocent men. Nobody bothers to see in how many cases are the accused in fact convicted. The acquittal of an accused is not noticed at all and he continues to be labelled as a 'rapist'.

One of the main areas of injustice to men is Divorce. Divorce rates in India is on a rise. On one hand, divorce on mutual terms is leading to happiness in the life of both the wife and husband. They also maintain a good relationship after the divorce. On the other hand, it is either the husband or the wife who is toxic in nature and plan to end their marriage.

There are many cases where the wife wants to claim all of her husbands wealth and files for a divorce. If the husband denies, she threatens to file a false rape or sexual assault case against him so that he is forced to sign on the documents. Some women go as far as to kill the husband and probably his parents too. The law is unable to see deep into the pit.

The worst part of a divorce is that, the husband doesn't get to have any or very little custody over his children after a divorce, even if the divorce is on mutual terms or if either the husband or the wife who is toxic. It breaks my heart after hearing stories about innocent men crying over not being able to see their children for many years. How is it justified that a mother is

' the natural care taker of her children'

Are men not involved in the process of creation ? don't their children share his DNA, personality traits and physical traits ? are men not emotional beings just as women are ?

Watch this video on men's rights movements in India.

Irony is that, the reporter Utsav Chakraborty being a pro-feminist (clearly seen in the video) was later accused of false sexual harassment. KARMA !

Yes, women go through excruciating pain all their life, before and after they give birth to their children, and there's no denying to it. They deserve all the respect and love. They really do !

But it doesn't make men any less valuable. Studies prove that a father plays an equal and very important role in the well being of a child through out his/her life until they are adults.

It's sad to see that some feminist women who are running hashtags and campaigns to remove Father's day, claiming that men are not valuable than women and are second class citizens. So can these women reproduce themselves, without any inclusion of male attributes and his involvement ?

Watch this video of a Feminist who no longer calls herself a feminist.

FEMINISM and its origin

The word was coined first by Charles Fourier, a utopian socialist and French philosopher in the year 1837. It was coined to represent all women around the world who started movements to achieve independence against the patriarchal cultures and societies. Men who also participated in these movements were referred to as pro-feminists.

however, feminists themselves had 2 different definitions/motive for the feminist movements.

One group of feminists called it Difference feminism, which is based on the assumption that women and men are different, that for women to be equal to men means to be like men, which is not desirable. Instead of equality, difference feminism is based on women having freedom in their personal, social and economic life.

Other group believed in attaining equality to men in all aspects of life. A balance in ratios.

But whatever the motive or definition, the term feminism doesn't talk about men's rights. It was coined only for women's rights and its movements in the first place. It addressed the participation of men in the movements, but never addressed men's rights or problems faced by men.

It concentrates mainly on sexist oppression.

CONCLUSION

It is true that women are seen less in labour force and there is a little discrimination by men still existing today. These men should be put into line.

But it is also true that there are equal opportunities for women just as men, in pursuing all forms or work force.

It is true that, there are many crimes against women, which is clearly seen by the law and society. Many laws are present to protect them and bring justice to innocent women.

But it is also true that many men are targets of rape, assault and especially false acquisitions of any form of crime, which is not at all seen by the law and the society. There is not even a single law that protects men against these crimes and bring justice to innocent men.

Gender equality must not be looked as Men vs Women but it should be looked as Men for Women and Women for Men.

Let's be an EAQUALIST, who fights for both men and women.