Men: The Solution to Women’s Equality

There is a paradigm shift in feminism which states that women’s rights are human rights. Realizing that the female is human, with full rights and privileges, is a huge step towards welcoming women as equal. But, this is only part o the solution. For women to become fully equal will take the proactive efforts, sacrifices, and assistance of all men, not women. Men are the ones with the power, the money, the governments, and religious control. Women can forever work towards their own advancement, but until men champion the rights of women, women’s status will not change at the rate it can and should.

Since the industrial revolution things have improved tremendously for women, especially in America. This advancement was due to collective efforts (maybe not always conscious, but regardless, collective) to drop old religious traditions, roles, and mythologies. In American, where freedom is our right and there is separation of church and state, women have excelled far greater than in other countries. But even in America women have only been able to g o so far without the efforts of progressive men.

Most women who have contributed to the advancement of women in America (e.g. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton) had husbands and/or father who believed that they were equal, and allowed them the freedom to express their equality, even when the rest of society did not. A study was done on women in the US who had excelled professionally, and they found that the majority of those women had supportive husbands or fathers. Those who did not were not as happy or comfortable with their success than women who had direct supportive men in their lives. This makes perfect sense, for it is equivalent to having a personal welcome into a man’s world!

So, what does it take to get men to champion women? Promoting the good that will come to men when women are equal is the first step. Men are overburdened and stressed, but will not be so burdened when women achieve equality. Men have been superior to women by virtue of their physical strength and their ability to be forceful. In this day and age, especially among younger generations, the concept of force no longer holds an appeal among any sex. This is the age of reason and consultation, of equality and non-racism. By not having to be the dominant force men are freed to become gentler, to develop consultative skills, and to have deeper partners instead of a woman they have to rescue and carry.

This will allow for a new definition of power, not at all affiliated with gender or force. This will help create a less violent world, where men will not be the characteristic killers and fighters. There will be a new emotional freedom available to men, which would be accepted by all. This also frees men up to develop deeper relationships with men, especially their fathers, and develop the skills to maintain those relationships.

Another way to have men understand the importance of championing women is to have them define what they wish women would and should become. The responsibility of Western women who currently have access to education and resources that most women in the world do not have, is to become excellent in any and all of their endeavors. If women continue to excel in sports, science, technology, and art, all old-world illusion of inequality will be unsubstantiated once and for all, regardless of religious mythologies, and men will have to uphold this equality.

If women focus on their dignity and nobility, and not play the sexual power games, men will continue to respect women and openly champion their rights. The more excellent the women, the more excellent the mother. The more excellent the mother, the more excellent the child. T he more excellent the child, the more excellent the society and future generations. World peace depends on the balance and contribution of the feminine, and true happiness of men depends on this balance. What man would not want to support such excellence and freedom?

When men make efforts to support women, they should be acknowledged. Men should be encouraged to teach their daughters how to fix their cars. Men should be thanked when they sacrifice to send their children to schools. Men should be applauded when they stand up against sexism and racism and violence. Men who are faithful and monogamous should be valued in society. Men who encourage their mothers, wives, and daughters to be all they can be should be our heroes. If women collectively work to enroll men in the struggle for equality through upholding their own dignity and nobility, then women will no longer have to fight for their human rights.

June, 2001

Lena Hakim can be reached at lenahakim@yahoo.com.