Why?

It has been 18 years since Hillary Clinton made a historic statement at the Beijing Conference, noting that women’s rights are human rights. And yet, though we’ve come a long way since, the “long way” has only been in time, not in developments. Today, women are as marginalised, brutalised and ostracised as they were nearly two decades ago. The only difference is the extent of exposure of the predicament that these women face – whether it is in the mass media or in the World Wide Web’s far-reaching social media.

As far as the rights that women have the luxury of enjoying go, there are still miles and miles to walk before a change happens. Today’s woman is still discriminated against, still oppressed and still treated like a second-class citizen. Of course, there are inspiring and empowered women all over the world, but sadly, the statistics show you that they are only a small fraction amidst myriads of women that face difficulties in life because of their gender.

Here’s what we are missing as a world: the fact that women are indeed humans, exactly as Hillary Clinton said. In many species in the animal kingdom, the female is not just respected, but also revered. Do you see the male species of any of the world’s animals leaving their female species by the side of a street after brutalising them? Or do you so much as see absolute misogyny prevailing in the animal kingdom?

Why is respecting a woman such a tough task?