The Many Faces of Gender Inequality
Gender equality in many countries is not a question of fairness, it’s a matter of life and death. Malala Yousafzai, Nadia Murad, the Chibok girls are familiar names not because their stories are extraordinary, but because they remind us about experiences that for many girls and women are common. So common infact, they are forgotten. Each year, 15 million girls are married before the age of 18. Three million are at risk of female genital mutilation every year. But gender-based violence is not only a “developing country” phenomenon. 35% of women globally have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence.
These statistics illustrate a conspicuous and sickening end of the gender inequality spectrum. But there are also far less painful manifestations of inequality. Women have less access to quality healthcare for example. The list goes on: unequal access to education, land, mobile phones, financial services, markets, jobs, legal recourse, and safe public transport & spaces. They also have less time for leisure activities compared to men, and fewer opportunities to be the best possible version of themselves.
Such inequalities also result in thousands of women dying every year simply by “virtue” of being female. By ignoring them we are losing not only economic value, but bearing the cost of immense losses in dignity and freedom.
My own experience of gender inequality is not remarkable but lived nonetheless. I wrote this poem to illustrate that even in my world of privilege, the playing field is not level.
Dear Men,
I refuse to lean in
Or fake it with a power pose
Don’t expect me to be loud
I won’t shout to be heard.
I refuse to smile away tasteless humour
Or wear less pink (prejudice stains)
Don’t mistake my modesty for lack of gravitas.
I refuse to be the reason your panel isn’t a Manel
Or champion a busine$$ case for my empowerment
A human right needs no economic rationale.
Don’t appease me with quick fixes and win-win scenarios —
Gestures that conceal injustice.
March by my side to enforce equal pay
Take on our fight to legislate family leave
Blaze a trail to reward unpaid care work.
Value collaboration as much as competition
And compromise as much as victory
Wake up to unconscious bias
Because real change is uncomfortable
Sometimes even painful.
