International Women's Day

Today is/was International Women's Day, a day dedicated to recognizing women's struggle for opportunities and acknowledgments equal to those of men. As with most, if not all, minority groups, women suffer from unequal opportunities and recognition due to a chauvinistic and self-important worldview by the majority group (in this case, men of all nationalities, religions, and philosophies).

The most striking feature of this disparity is the violence women suffer at the hands and dictates of men who presume ownership over them. These men seek to numb women to their personhood, making women into objects they can possess rather than respect. They assume that women exist to serve men and that this service entitles men to do with women as they please. In doing so, they reveal their immaturity as human beings: disrespecting women and failing to acknowledge and entitle women with the full vestments of human individualism hurts not only the women, but the men, the children, and the society at large. A nation that subjugates its women fails to fulfill its social, economic, and technological potential, regardless of how strong it is while artifically limiting half of its potential workforce.

The second and more insidious feature of this disparity is the paternalism women suffer at actions of "concerned" father figures. These men seek to control women under the guise of protecting women. They do this by establishing social norms and passing laws that limit women freedoms; examples include the purdah, a code wherein women are not allowed to leave the household without the accompaniment of a male relative, and restrictions on abortion argued on the basis that women can't or shouldn't have to be able to (due to potential emotional distress) choose whether to end their pregnancies. They claim that women (adult females) are ultimately fragile creatures that must be protected from the harshness of the world, particularly other men (while never questioning whether they themselves are the men women should be getting the Hell away from); in reality, this feature is sexual fascism in the name of chivalry. And, dear readers, Father Fascist does not know best, either for himself or others.

There are many other, more specific ways men (and their women supporters; many women are heavily invested in the rule of men over women) subjugate and diminish women. However, most of these means come back to men either claiming ownership of women or claiming to know what is best for women (regardless of the input of women). Unfortunately, we cannot simply rely on others to improve the situation and ensure the full and equal participation and recognition of all humans; even the liberal fantasy of our ancestors that full legal equality would lead to equal social equilibrium has shown itself to be wrong.

To establish and ensure equality we must speak, we must act, and we must remain.