There is a common saying in Bangla: “Chelera parle mayera parbe na keno?” The underlying message of this motto is that women are capable of doing anything that men can do and, hence, they are not inferior to their male counterparts. This perception is meant to inspire women to strive to follow men’s behaviour. This popular saying apparently provides a sense of gender equality or, at best, a ground to claim for gender equality in our society.
This fallacy of gender equality needs attention, particularly, during this period of our country. Right now, Bangladesh is committed to alleviating discrimination. If we want to reform our policies, we need to raise our demands with a proper understanding of equality. If we do not change our perception or attitude towards equality at a personal level, it will be difficult to envision a society without discrimination. It is crucial to have clear conceptual grounds on certain discriminatory issues.
When people expect women to do something like men, that attitude itself is discriminatory. The approach means that people consider men the standard, and women should follow suit. This mentality ultimately places men in superior and desirable positions. It is like saying -- whatever men do is good and women have to prove that they are capable of doing it too.
That well-received motto only reinforces prevailing patriarchal views. Society stresses importance on the work done by men, whereas women’s activities are devalued. We need to understand that many feminine activities have potential contributions to society.
For example, caring and cleaning are tasks associated with women, as society does not expect men to be engaged in such work. These kinds of activities as a part of the profession, for instance, nursing, are also generally performed by women.
The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the value of these kinds of services for the survival of human beings. Therefore, women should not rely on society to ascribe value to their work. They need to recognize and acknowledge their value. There is no point in blindly following men’s activities or behaviour and trying to have the proud feeling -- “being like a man!”
If women try to prove that they can do everything like men, in some cases, that might even be detrimental to themselves. The case of “Torches of Freedom” is a good example to support this view. Before the 20th century, smoking by women was not socially acceptable. In North America and Europe, women’s smoking was associated with their lack of morality. During World War I, women had jobs left by men because of joining the war. At that time, some women started smoking, but they needed to hide it from the public due to social taboo. Cigarettes symbolized the emancipation of women and equality with men during that period.
In 1929, many women were hired for the Easter Sunday Parade to march while smoking on the streets of New York City. Women were motivated by the saying: "Women! Light another torch of freedom!” Cigarettes, which were equated with men, became torches of freedom for women. The parade with cigarettes was perceived as a way to challenge social norms and fight for their equal rights with “torches of freedom.”
It was a clever way to expand the tobacco market and gain profits by exploiting the concept of gender equality. Was it gender equality by getting the right to act like men that guaranteed health hazards?
It is important to note that, in simple words, gender equality deals with the rights and opportunities of human beings irrespective of gender; no person should be deprived of rights or opportunities based on gender. The issue is mostly about “rights” or “opportunities.”
More precisely, gender equality does not demand the same level of “activities” from women that men perform. Women should not be compelled to replicate men’s activities or behaviour simply because it is labelled as men’s work. There is no need to prove equal capacity of women compared to that of men to claim gender equality. We must not consider what men do as the norm and expect women to match it.
Blindly following men cannot be considered as gender equality. In general, the task, that is good for women and beneficial for society, can be conducted. Practically, it is not essential to identify which gender performs such an activity. We need to assess the value of the work and whether that suits someone while deciding upon approaching it.
When we aspire to alleviate discrimination in our society, we need to be critical about our understanding of gender equality for meaningful changes. It is essential to be careful about the misperceptions regarding gender issues in the prevailing society. We have to enlighten our country with our spiritual torches to ensure a proper sense of freedom in terms of gender equality.
Dr Jasmine Jaim is a Professor at Institute of Business Administration, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. The author can be reached at jaim.jas@gmail.com.