Opinion piece by Annabelle Ghanem, Staff Writer

May 22nd, 2020

Over the course of centuries, people have been either bystanders or fighters in the longstanding battle for women rights, where females fight to attain their share of equality within the social, political, and economic spheres. From discrimination in salaries, to political opportunities, many women have, and still are, forced to live under excruciating man-made laws that render them powerless in the face of society.

These circumstances became the driving force empowering women to give everything in an attempt to triumph passed the inequalities of their time. However, the disparities facing females over the centuries have ultimately led us to the world we live in now. Where feminism, an ideology that once pushed for equality not superiority, has been radicalized in its application and connotation. Where women abuse their sex and challenge the masculinity of men with questions such as “are you gonna hit a girl?”, while continuing to practice those harmful acts themselves. Where headlines of female leaders providing extraordinary work to their countries, highlight their gender rather than their competence. When did gender begin overshadowing competency? 

The spreading coronavirus has hit the world by storm, affecting each nation in an unprecedent way. However, amidst the chaos of the pandemic, many nation leaders were commemorated for their intelligent responses to the threat arriving at their borders. Yet what I don’t seem to grasp is why several media outlets correlated numerous effective nation responses to the gender of their leaders?

Why were headlines emphasizing on these remarkable women’s gender, rather than highlighting their response methods? Why did these media outlets fail to spread the same amount of gratitude and recognition towards outstanding male leaders, such as South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who have put up an incredible fight against the deadly virus? 

The spectacular responses of women leaders such as New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, have nothing to do with the fact that they are female, rather than solely the fact that they are competent. We often loose site of the true definition of feminism, and use it in a way to glorify women while simultaneously putting men down. We as females have faced horrible injustices inflicted upon us due to our gender. However, reversing the roles and corelating our competence to our sex makes us no better than those who created inequality in the first place. 

It is and always will remain true, that the number of women facing discrimination is unmeasurable, however let us not forget that men go through their distinctive form of inequality as well, regardless of how common that may be.

Stereotypes of masculinity as well as gender roles have deeply impacted the lives of men all over the world. Men holding positions such as nurses or teachers, despite how competent they may be in their respective field, are discriminated against based on their gender, and the fact that these professions are associated by society with the female sex. Therefore, let us not be blinded by our strive for equality, and forget the true principles of our fight. 

Every day, women around the world prove that gender does not define competence, and that using female in the same sentence as leadership is nothing out of the ordinary. The social, political, and economic spheres have benefited from the contribution of women tremendously, as they have of that of men. Associating gender with our work ethic and results, only diminishes the idea of equality, and makes the battle for women’s rights far more difficult. It is time to revert back to the true definition of feminism, an ideology that benefits both men and women, for it not only calls for the rights of the female sex, but simultaneously enables men to live in a more innovative and progressing world. 

Truth be told, men and women are different. Our bodies are built in distinctive ways, enabling each gender to do things that the other can’t do. However, our differences do not define our competence in the social, political, and economic spheres, areas in which we are graded based on our ability to thrive rather than our biological components. Gender should never be a barrier put up against our capabilities, and should never be used as the reason for our successes. We as a race benefit so much more from each other’s differences when we embrace our capabilities and utilize them to develop, using the process of selection on one justifiable basis, competence.