The beginning

God made man and woman, and handed over the reins of this world in their hands. The passing time through centuries, have witnessed the God’s ordinance being twisted by man, to suit his own ends. The inception observed the man and woman treading down the lanes of troubles, hand in hand.

Today

The year 2004 is witnessing all the hustle and bustle of new technologies, economy rising, fast life, and so on. Despite all this, what startles me is the ever-increasing oppression on women, around the globe – be it sexual harassment, cultural oppression, religious impositions, etc. Being a working woman myself, the most attention-grabbing anomaly I come across is the difference in the wages of men and women.

Excerpts of evidence

March 08, 2004 - 20:14, Gulf Daily News by TARIQ KHONJI

"There are many issues that need to be addressed including laws regarding women's rights and the elimination of discrimination in both the public and private sector," explained Ms Al Rowaie.

"For example, we hardly ever find women in very high positions. They are usually concentrated in middle-level management, even though their abilities are equal and often exceed those of men.

"We don't have a woman minister yet, with the exception of Supreme Council for Women secretary-general Lulwa Al Awadhi, who has the rank of minister but not a minister's portfolio."

Anne Summers' book, The End of Equality, paints a stark picture of women's status in Australia in the 21st century.

Despite winning equal pay for equal work more than 30 years ago, the gap between men’s and women's wages is larger now than a decade ago. In May 2002, men averaged $839 per week while women were paid just $555 (66% of men's wages). Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate this gap is still growing: between May 2000 and May 2002, men's wages increased by $58 while women's rose by only $33.

Holding reins of livelihood!

In practice, employers favor men-workers owing to their belief that men are more devoted to work than women. Women are contemplated to be less reliable because they sometimes take leave to marry, or to have children. Conventionally, men were thought of as the breadwinner, and therefore worthy of a superior wage. In accordance to this, a woman's salary was supplementary income only.

Today’s scenario contradicts the myth of “supplementary income” earned by women. The awareness and adoption of education for girls have armed them adequately, in order to ease their stand on “equal wages” demand. Despite the sincere efforts of unsung heroes (and heroines), the old practice of discrimination still dominate the employer’s decisions.

What can be done about it?

A quote by Voltaire, “No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking.” The foundation stone is not laid through a union’s establishment, or passing of a bill in the constitution. The flame of revolution has to kindle up in each person’s heart; that would mark the real change! The idea is not to profess feminist slogans here, rather for justification. When a woman is passing the entire criterion successfully, do not deny her the wages she deserves!