Who is She? Who is He? Equal or Superior?

We all ask questions. We all want answers to our questions. The answers we give may never be right but some have no answers.

- by Lofty-John Anyanwu

Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.

- G.D. Anderson

Our perception is always a matter of answers to questions we raise. In different societies and in different eras, who a woman is and what she should do has always been answered by men. In these societies we sense the way they perceive women. In the ancient Greek world, women had few rights being unable to own land, vote or inherit property. They could also not be seen at certain events and had the primary responsibility of staying at home and rearing children. However, in Sparta, women were given rights to own land, drink and engage in physical training like men. Over the years and with each civilization, who a woman was and her role in society changed. After Greece was Rome, in Rome just like Greece the women had limited roles in society and not many privileges. They could run for public offices or vote and had very little say in political affairs. Roman society put an emphasis on women being dependent on a male member of the family. In most societies, women were traditionally confined to the home as daughters, wives and mothers, and are often not known much in history except through their male relations.

Women Rights Today

A woman is human. She is n

ot better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human.”

- Vera Nazarian.

Today, the role of women in society has changed. Who a woman is and her role in society has changed. The rise of feminism and increase in the participation of women in all areas of life have won some battles for women over the centuries such as the right to vote and equal access to education but still women are still affected by violence and discrimination.

There have been many women and men who have played an important role in women's issues working and fighting to achieve gender equality and to improve the lives of women as a social group. An organised women’s movement started in the 19th century, although there have always been women activists and the struggle for equality has always been part of all human societies.

The Italian writer Christine de Pizan, who published a book about women’s position in society as early as 1495, was one of the early pioneers of women rights. She wrote about books by famous men, who wrote books about the sins and weaknesses of girls and women, and questioned the humanity of women. Her works highlight the early struggles for women’s equality. Another notable march for the recognition of women rights was during the French Revolution which proved futile.

Slowly but steadily, the women’s movement began to develop in North America. The pioneer activists traveled around North America fighting for the end of slavery and gender inequality. The movement also began in Europe with the same aims with activists collecting signatures demanding that working women should receive their own wages and not that of their husbands’ and that women should be able to own a house and have custody of their children.

Wave I: The Right to Vote is Won

Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.” - Susan B. Anthony.

The ‘suffragette movement’ was the fight for women's freedom to vote. It included mass demonstrations, writing, publishing, organised debates, and the founding of international women’s organisations. By the 1920s, women had won the right to vote in most European countries and in North America. At around this time too, women became more active in government and politics. Women were first allowed to go to university in the early 20th century, having both a career and a family. After the end of the Second World War, women began planning again and soon gained equal political rights in most European countries. Many women were allowed to take on full-time jobs, get divorced and attend university.

Wave 2: The Socialist Movement

“Life is not a competition between men and women. It is a collaboration.”

- David Alejandro Fearnhead.

By the 1970s, a second wave of feminism aimed at achieving ‘women’s liberation’, began. Some feminists wanted better equality laws and reform of institutions such as schools, churches and the media. Others argued against patriarchy and some focused on violence against women by men. The second wave instituted the addition of women into fields of academia especially the arts and sciences. It also ushered in the crafting of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Wave 3: Post-feminism

This was a reaction to the media and people announcing the end of feminism or referring to ‘post-feminism’. Not surprisingly, the women’s movements had been met with antagonism. In the 1980s, institutionalised forms of attacks on women’s rights grew stronger. Stronger emphasis was placed on racial issues, including the status of women in other parts of the world (global feminism). The media and pop culture was actively used to spread the idea. It focused on bringing feminism closer to the people’s daily lives.

The Answer?

It is really simple.

“Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it.”

- George Carlin.

Women rights are human rights, nothing more and nothing less. Who a woman is should not be defined by society or a man but by women themselves. Like each and every human, a woman has the right to herself and to guide her own life. Every woman has the right to exercise her rights.