The World We Were Born Into: A Teen's Perspective

Gender inequality - does it still exist in today's world? The fact that the question is still being asked is enough to suggest, yes, it does exist. Though time, as usual, continues to move forward, much of our society still remains stuck in outdated ideas about roles, expectations, and rights assigned based on gender. Even today, people endure restrictions, discrimination, and inequalities because of the gender they were born into - something that was beyond their control.

We might have started reducing the amount of discrimination done based on gender, but it still remains a fact that it is present in a lot of forms.

One such form is emotional stereotyping — boys are conditioned to suppress vulnerability, while girls are dismissed as "too emotional" the moment they express it. Neither can win. This double standard runs so deep that most people don't even notice it anymore, and that invisibility is exactly what makes it so dangerous. But while this affects all genders, it is women who bear the heaviest structural consequences of these expectations.

Women and men are not physically equal, but women are not asking for physical equality — for them, equality is much broader and deeper than this, and that is widely known. For women, gender equality is more about getting equal cerebral opportunities.

Yet, in many countries, women still face the daily hurdles of unequal pay and freedom. It is common knowledge that women are paid less compared to men and have much less freedom, even in their own homes. For instance, the son of the house might be allowed to get educated and hang out with friends while the daughter of the house cannot get literate or is allowed to hang out alone. In addition to this, harassment of women occurs almost everywhere, and it is stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that one in every three women has faced physical or sexual violence.

This is a deep issue to be addressed, not by individuals alone, but globally, for no country can confidently state that they have achieved gender equality. A fair and safe society cannot exist as long as inequality exists in any form.

WRITTEN BY-

MISHKA