Why Women Are Not Equal With Men
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Price: $15.74
List Price: $29.95 |
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Price: $6.48
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Price: $14.48
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Gender Inequality
Women are not equal with men. The last forty years have been spent trying to convince the human race that women are equal to men. This is not true. At least in education.
Mothers are the first educators of children. This is true in America and even more true in other countries around the world. In China, there are strong cultural beliefs that the mother must remain at home for at least a month after giving birth. Even in America, and especially after the family medical leave act was passed, mothers are the ones that stay at home with the infant. Hundreds of millions of mothers all over the world still live in a society where mothers stay at home while the fathers farm or work outside the home.
Most teachers are women. I am the professional development coordinator in a school district of 14,000 students and 1,300 teachers. By far, the majority of the teachers are women. I lived and taught in China for eight years. There too, the vast majority of the teachers are women.
Children have a special close connection with their mothers that can't be matched with the relationship they have with their fathers. It's often said that if women ruled the world, there would be no wars because, as mothers, they couldn't bring themselves to send their sons to war. A world ruled by men seems to have no problem doing so. And now they send their daughters, too.
So, as the first educators of children and the ones that have that special connection with the offspring of this world, women are indeed not equal with men. They are superior.
In China, and in many other countries, America included, when the family can only afford to send one child to school or university, and they must choose between the son or daughter, it's the son that goes. From a systems point of view, where the effects are often separated from causes by months and sometimes years and decades in time, sendind the boy to school instead of the girl makes no sense. An uneducated and unsophisticaed mother can't help but to pass on the same to her children. If we are serious about educating our children, we should make sure our mothers are educated first, and fathers second if there must be a choice.
Sociologists know that with each year of education added on to a woman's life, the likelyhood of her having less children rather than more increases. Education of women is now a favored method of population control in many developing countries. China is often criticized for their One Child Policy. To be fair, the policy is only a short term solution and has resulted in some unwelcome practices that likely were not anticipated before its implementation. However, to China's credit, and this is never mentioned in western news when the One Child Policy is criticized, they are more than halfway through a 40+ year campaign aimed at 100% compulsary education. They have already nearly achieved 97% 9th grade compulsary education. There are more Chinese k-12 students in public schools than there are American citizens. Half of them are girls; girls likely to have less children than more, and of their own free will and choice, based on sociological statistics because they have received an education. China plans to have 12th grade compulsary education by 2020. That means China will have higher high school graduation rates than America has.
Of course, fathers have a significant influence on their children. An educated father will no doubt have a more positive influence on his children than an uneducated one. However, it appears that mothers, and women (as school teachers) in general exert a greater influence on our children than fathers and men do. Therefore, women, from an educational point of view, are more important than men. In whatever country in the world, if finances or other restraints force parents to choose between sending their son or daughter to school, whether it be elementary, secondary or postsecondary, the daughter should be the one to go. In this regard, women are not equal with men. They are superior.
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Comments
Chantel,
This belief of mine first originated from a religious teaching. That's right! My religion says that women should be educated before men, should there have to be a choice. But I didn't really appreciate it until I lived in China for 8 years. and saw how the influence of a mother on her child varied based on her level of education and overall sophistication. Having chosen education as my career, I see even more clearly how important the education of women is. I thought it was worth a hub.
P.S. stay at home with a U degree
I think there is an argument in here somewhere for single sex schools. Girls are far outperforming boys in schools. Many of the girls I teach are jawdroppingly competent, focused, productive, cooperative, etc etc. I would bet on them any day to be successful in whatever they do.
When my grandmother graduated from college in 1909, she couldn't vote because whe was a woman--I thought of her as I read your hub. She was a great proponent of education for women and had to fight for her own as you might imagine. She always said that if you educate a man you educate one person but if you educate a woman you educate a whole family--she would have liked this hub. So do I--thanks for writing it.
Barranca- the single sex schools idea is interesting. I'm not convinced at the moment, howvever, that they are any better than coed. I have to read more about it.
Robie2- I love your grandmother's saying "if you educate a man you educate one person but if you educate a woman you educate a whole family"
That's great and really summarizes the essence of this hub. Thank you for sharing that.
hmmmmm maybe I'll write a hub on my grandmother--she was a wonderful person and quite a role model---hub hub hub:-)
vrecc
Interesting insights. Traditionally, I have always considered it a must for my son to receive a college education so that he will be able to remain competitive in the ever increasing "dog eat dog" business world. It is his income that will be the support of his family unit one day, ideally that is. My daughter on the other hand is attending a vocational school by her own choice, still becoming educated but in a specific field. As far as rearing children, her education in more subjects than can be offered in a "school" atmosphere is a desire of my heart. Having been raised by an educator, a mother who was an elementary school teacher for over 30 years, I am pro-education, but not everything a mother needs to learn can be learned in school. Trust me on that one! As far as your concept of education as a means of birth control especially in third world countries, or places where the women is traditionally limited in her education, it is something worth pondering. I am not in favor of limiting a persons right to bear children, but education concerning the matter certainly could help. After all when it comes to birth control, HOPE simply isn't one of the best methods now is it?
HOPE is not effective at all. You are right. The relationship between education and birth rate is purely statistical. There is nothing to ponder. Sociologist discovered in the 60s and 70s that women in African and Asian nations that were receiving elementary and secondary education were not having as many children as those that didn't receive an education. There are many explanations for this but the real reason isn't known for sure. Some say that these educated women go out and get jobs and therefore have less women. Others say they develop a level of sophistication and the light goes on and they see they don't need so many children. But... ya know... I just don't know.
What I do know is that in China, if a women is in school then marriage is out of the question. If a girl does not go on to high school from middle school, then it is likely she will soon marry and have children. However, if she goes on to HS and then college, the child bearing keeps getting delayed. Most Chinese don't marry until they are out of school.
This is changing a little, but it is still generally the pattern.
Jonathan
gotta chime in here again and say that education is power for both genders. Uneducated men get less respect and have fewer options than educated men--the same is true for women. Why should it matter less for a woman than a man?.....just thought I'd mention it:-)
Robie2,
can't argue with you there.
Super duper, yeah women! No really, great hub for sure.
I agree, Sandra.
Yeah women!!!!!!!
Great hub....and thought provoking. I still do not approve of the one child policy...every life is precious and there are much nicer ways to accomplish population control. But, with that said....I do agree and admire your views. Debi
Thanks for visiting Deb. The one child policy is a tough one. There are studies out there that predict what china's population would be without the policy. It's pretty scary and challenges beliefs. On the face of it, I don't like being told how many children I can have. But, a society that can't feed upwards of 2 billion people is scary as well.
Of course, I don't think the real solution lies in family planning laws or education. I think it goes much deeper than that and is strongly connected to the concept of the oneness of humanity.
Thanks for coming by.
Jonathan
This hub has such an interesting point of view. I just began advising a feminist student group at the college I work at, and we have been talking a lot about equality. We have also been discussing what it means to be a feminist. What we keep coming back to is that we want to to promote equality between genders, not just fight for women's rights. As well, we have tossed around the idea that we aren't all equal or the same, but we all deserve equal rights and opportunities.
My two cents on the one child policy: it is a tough one. I also dislike the idea of someone restricting how many children I can have. On the other hand, it isn't like they make it impossible to have more than one child, but you do lose out on a lot of benefits if you do have more than one child. If a government is being overtaxed with supporting its citizens, I guess these kinds of measures are necessary. Still...I'm torn over what I think about. I guess I'm just happy I live in the U.S. where I can plan on having more than one child.
I could ramble on, but I'll stop here.
Stacie,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comments. You are doing good work at your college. We are lucky to live in the usa. We really don't know how good we have it.
Cheers friend!!!
Jonathan
Yip, as much as I hate our government, I would rather be here than anywhere else. At least right now that is. It could change. I am sorta leaning toward Clinton now. But.....I am not sure yet......cause I would hate to have her be president and then get beat up but a womanizer in another country or something.
Hey Sandra, thanks for stopping by again. I am happy to be here, but I still miss China. There are lot of things that I can't do when I'm there. For example, in China, if hubpages isn't blocked, then I bet it's super slow.
Not sure who I'm going to vote for for yet.
This is great analysis.I don't know how I missed this one.Thanks for supporting women.But the sad part is still prevalent in some parts of India.Dowry system makes people look down upon women and not given enough education.Female infanticde in rural areas is on the rise.
Great work.
Great title - great catch - you know every woman that found this would read it. I like what you're doing!
Laurie B.
Abhinaya- I know of the dowry and femail infanticide. It was happening in China, too, though I think it has become less prevelant. Why don't you do a hub for us on this situation in India? Thanks for stopping by.
Wildwind- I was sneaky with that title now wasn't ;-). Thanks for coming by. Cheers!!
Hi Vreccc,
Very interesting Hub. I thought you are going to say that men are superior to women which I would of course disagree.lol. I personally don't think any gender is superior. You're comparing apples to oranges here.
Both can't exist without the other. They exist to complement each other. Men have qualities not found in women. Women have qualities not found in men. It will be a boring world for both to have the same talents. Both parents are needed in the family.
At an early stage, the mother is more important for the child but the father is more important to the family. He is the one who provides for them. What happens when the father leaves the mother and child. Trouble! As the child grows up, the father has some good influence on a child. There will be difficulties in children that grows up without a father. I have two kids myself and I can't imagine them having no father. Men should have education. Women have more respect to a husband who is educated, smart. They can't properly feed their family without education. This world will turn upside down if men should stay home and wear skirts while all the women work. Of course, there are some exceptions here. Just my 2 cents.
Mschanl ,
Thanks for stoppin by and leaving a thoughtful comment. Youa re right, education is important for both men and women. I was pointing out what should happen if finances or other circumstances cause a family to choose between sending the girl ro boy to school. I think the girl should go in these cases.
I expected content like this when I read the title. I appreciate your international experiences and knowledge included in this hub :)
Very VERY great content, I love a man who is a feminist!
Glassvisage and Lady Luck,
Thank you both for stopping by. The title is a little catchy and gets people to read. I believe this concept wholeheartedly.
Jonathan
working
chantelg4 says:
3 months ago
Very interesting coming from a man, I was surprised when I read your article as the title made me wonder what was inside. Yes, I agree, women do have a special bond with children, not to say that men don't, but I think women are just naturally more nurturing and men are more providers and solution seekers. (nothing wrong with that!) I am a stay at home mom and my partner is the work horse, and he would not want it any other way.