Equal Rights for All - Essay Example

Equal Rights for All The topic of the week of November 25 was probably the best I could perceive in my opinion in terms of its impact on the American society and culture. It narrated the Equal Rights Amendments made in the US constitution in favor of women. According to the amendment, males and females have equal constitutions rights. They have equal political rights and they can cast their votes with complete authority. Although the ERA promised so much for the equal rights for women but it wasn’t implemented because only 35 states approved it and approval of minimum 38 states is required to pass the amendment in the constitution. The ideas of John Stuart Mill’s article have been discussed in the lecture stating that the biggest hindrance in the betterment of the society is not allowing the rights to the women. He is a strong advocate of equal rights for women in every sector of life. Social relations between men and women should not be dominated by any sex. His beliefs and motives have a great political and social impact. As the time is moving ahead, the role of women is becoming quite vital in the society. He strongly condemns shifting of power on either side. He is quite stern against the rights given to one sex only; while the other being deprived of even basic facilities of life (Mill). In his article, John Stuart Mill presents some harsh facts that pose hindrance to implementation of the ERA in the US society. Most of the people are not in favor of giving equal rights to both sexes. They consider that the men are superior creatures and they should be given priority over women. Some people go to the extent of considering women as slaves of men. Women are considered solely responsible for taking care of the children while men are looking after outside home issues. Gender discrimination is the most vital factor that is impeding the progress of the society. There is a huge mass that opposes the feelings of Mill for providing the favors to women. He feels that the reason for failure of implementation of the ERA lies in the reasoning that comes directly from the narrow minds. The solidarity of the rights might be overwhelmed by the conventions of the society (Mill). Stuart Mill draws our attention towards the basis of the gender discrimination. Our society has the system of jobs in various sectors that is totally biased in the favor of men. In every company, you will find women working under men who are holding important positions in the management. Women are never allowed to reach at that level. Moreover, in political system, the role of women is hardly of any significance. Men are completely dominating the verdicts of the politics. Our mind naturally thinks and queries about the origin of the sex discrimination. Some of us might think on the lines that world would have been worse had women be ruling over the men or even if equal. Such an experiment of giving high priority role to women has now been performed yet and people are afraid to take that worth taking risk. They want dominance of men throughout the life organization (Mill). What is the origin of the notion of male sex dominance? The answer to this question can be traced back to ancient times when women were solely dependent upon men to provide them all the facilities of life. They are naturally weak physically and cannot do hardships like men. So a psychological lag can be thought of among the minds of women. In many cases, women think that they are better off performing secondary tasks being secondary to the men. The environment and society has a great role to play in nullifying their equality thoughts. They always grow up thinking that men are the dominant and women have to do what they are ordering them. Women are also psychologically weak as compared to men who are daunting them always with their personality and importance. Thinking about the equality of rights, the root-cause of this male domination over the society must be eradicated. It seems more likely that the dominance culture has been infused into the blood of every man in the family. He is the leader of the family as bread earner and women have to look after children and provide them food. The role of half part of the society is completely dumped with limited thinking and approach. People never come out of their mental models which have self sealing impact. The authorities of men are imposed upon women without any obvious reason. Women cannot live independently in our society. They have to get attached to men who will look after their affairs. Women, no doubt, are weaker sex but only physically. They have been surrendered for psychological weakness also. They never think of dominating the males due to subdued behavior. ‘Equal rights for all’ is very important for me personally because I strongly favor the rights for women which they deserve. They must have opportunities as decision makers in important niches of the society. They must be able to direct their lives independently from men. Their prime roles as mothers of the generation shouldn’t be negated either. There must be a proper work-life balance for leading an ideal life as woman. Unfortunately, many men are against the idea of female domination and they purposely oppose their role in the sectors of society like jobs, business and politics. They think that the women don’t carry sufficient capability to organize the matters with responsibility. Many conventions attach women to their children and rightly so. But these domestic responsibilities shouldn’t hinder their progress in other niches of the society. Their valuable contribution is required for making rapid progress in various sectors of life. When half of the population stays at home, a huge burden on the country’s economy is imposed. Hence, women must compete with men in all fields of life to make a prosperous nation. Bibliography Mill, John. The subjection of women. Transaction Books, 2001. Read More