The Sunday Mail
Most countries have amended constitutions or passed laws that give women full civil and legal rights, or at least made these equal to those of men.
Zimbabwe was, thanks to the late decolonisation, a bit later than most, followed suit, with women only achieving full civil rights with the passing of the Legal Age of Majority Act, and then a string of other laws and judicial decisions that amended some of the customary laws put into a straight-jacket in the 1890s by colonialists who reckoned they knew better than anyone else, including those communities, how communities must have lived in “primitive Africa”.
March is in many countries a special time to remember what has been achieved in the long battle for gender equality, as well as women’s rights, and, most importantly, the practical implementation of both those rights and the desired gender equality.
It centres on International Women’s Day on March 8, but that just provides a focal point for both the month, and for what should be seen as the required struggle and remembrance throughout the year.
A lot of progress has been made, but much more still needs to be done until we reach the position where everyone in the world is accepted for what they are, what they think and what they do. Minor matters such as race, gender, nationality and even age should just be signs that embrace diversity, rather than as something that defines what role a person has in communities, cultures, society and the world.
In almost every country now, women have full legal equality, and that was the long struggle of the 20th century around the world. In the first International Women’s Day in 1911, the legal position of women in most parts of the world was fairly dismal.
Britain and its empire, for example, had only allowed married women to own property a couple of decades before. Women were barred from most universities in most countries, either formally or in practice, and even when allowed, they usually had to attend special, and small, women’s colleges that did not have engineering schools.
Even the most basic right to vote showed a very small list. Of the present United Nations members, only New Zealand had the full franchise by 1900, although women could not stand as candidates, with Australia in 1902 spreading the pre-1900 franchise in two states to federal elections. A couple of American states had enfranchised women for state elections, and two territories of the Russian Empire, Latavia and the Grand Duchy of Finland, had let women vote, although the Tsarist empire was a long way from democracy. That was basically it in 1911.
The 20th century saw that tiny group expand, and by the end of the century, just the states on the southern shore of the Gulf were not on the list, and they have been enfranchising women early this century. During the same time, tertiary education was opened up fully and women won full property
The battlefront for gender equality has now moved to new levels — the practical implementation of these legal rights and the need for cultural shifts and society change in just about every society on the planet. And there can be oddities.
The old Soviet Union, for example, opened up tertiary education to women, and even encouraged a lot to move into medicine, so women doctors formed a large majority in that field. But we also saw medicine then having a lower status than male-dominated engineering.
This was fairly typical everywhere, women moving into full employment, but tending to dominate the lower paid positions and tending to be very scarce in the upper paid or in most high-status posts. Even in skilled labour, the technical training was almost all reserved for young men, while service posts were largely reserved for women, with laws against discrimination being circumvented by cute phrases like “female environment” or “male environment”. This is changing, but probably not fast enough. And we still have the results of past practices. So, in a very technical environment, you might have something close to equality in the younger age groups, but among the middle-aged, almost total male dominance.
Again there is progress, with more and more employers, including the Public Service Commission itself as the largest employer, trying to ensure that recruitment into all areas, specialities and promotion posts have something closer to gender equality.
Obviously, some rules have to be kept, such as those selected are qualified, preferably better qualified, but also looking for opportunities. Already gone are the days when newspapers used to feature the first woman pilot, or woman aircraft captain, or for that matter the first woman general officer in the defence forces or permanent secretary. But higher up the ladders there are still minorities of women.
Women’s month: A lot of progress has been made
The Sunday Mail
Most countries have amended constitutions or passed laws that give women full civil and legal rights, or at least made these equal to those of men.
Zimbabwe was, thanks to the late decolonisation, a bit later than most, followed suit, with women only achieving full civil rights with the passing of the Legal Age of Majority Act, and then a string of other laws and judicial decisions that amended some of the customary laws put into a straight-jacket in the 1890s by colonialists who reckoned they knew better than anyone else, including those communities, how communities must have lived in “primitive Africa”.
March is in many countries a special time to remember what has been achieved in the long battle for gender equality, as well as women’s rights, and, most importantly, the practical implementation of both those rights and the desired gender equality.
It centres on International Women’s Day on March 8, but that just provides a focal point for both the month, and for what should be seen as the required struggle and remembrance throughout the year.
A lot of progress has been made, but much more still needs to be done until we reach the position where everyone in the world is accepted for what they are, what they think and what they do. Minor matters such as race, gender, nationality and even age should just be signs that embrace diversity, rather than as something that defines what role a person has in communities, cultures, society and the world.
In almost every country now, women have full legal equality, and that was the long struggle of the 20th century around the world. In the first International Women’s Day in 1911, the legal position of women in most parts of the world was fairly dismal.
Britain and its empire, for example, had only allowed married women to own property a couple of decades before. Women were barred from most universities in most countries, either formally or in practice, and even when allowed, they usually had to attend special, and small, women’s colleges that did not have engineering schools.
Even the most basic right to vote showed a very small list. Of the present United Nations members, only New Zealand had the full franchise by 1900, although women could not stand as candidates, with Australia in 1902 spreading the pre-1900 franchise in two states to federal elections. A couple of American states had enfranchised women for state elections, and two territories of the Russian Empire, Latavia and the Grand Duchy of Finland, had let women vote, although the Tsarist empire was a long way from democracy. That was basically it in 1911.
The 20th century saw that tiny group expand, and by the end of the century, just the states on the southern shore of the Gulf were not on the list, and they have been enfranchising women early this century. During the same time, tertiary education was opened up fully and women won full property
The battlefront for gender equality has now moved to new levels — the practical implementation of these legal rights and the need for cultural shifts and society change in just about every society on the planet. And there can be oddities.
The old Soviet Union, for example, opened up tertiary education to women, and even encouraged a lot to move into medicine, so women doctors formed a large majority in that field. But we also saw medicine then having a lower status than male-dominated engineering.
This was fairly typical everywhere, women moving into full employment, but tending to dominate the lower paid positions and tending to be very scarce in the upper paid or in most high-status posts. Even in skilled labour, the technical training was almost all reserved for young men, while service posts were largely reserved for women, with laws against discrimination being circumvented by cute phrases like “female environment” or “male environment”. This is changing, but probably not fast enough. And we still have the results of past practices. So, in a very technical environment, you might have something close to equality in the younger age groups, but among the middle-aged, almost total male dominance.
Again there is progress, with more and more employers, including the Public Service Commission itself as the largest employer, trying to ensure that recruitment into all areas, specialities and promotion posts have something closer to gender equality.
Obviously, some rules have to be kept, such as those selected are qualified, preferably better qualified, but also looking for opportunities. Already gone are the days when newspapers used to feature the first woman pilot, or woman aircraft captain, or for that matter the first woman general officer in the defence forces or permanent secretary. But higher up the ladders there are still minorities of women.
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