How often do we read about articles lambasting the great inequality of the sexes? How women are treated as second class citizens in their own countries? How wives are abused physically, mentally and emotionally by their own husbands? How in some countries, women are looked upon as mere sex objects by the male populace? And how often do we see female libertarians stand up and cajole their female constituents to band together and fight such discriminations and abuse in their countries to no avail?
Why? Because females by nature are docile and timid. They would rather suffer in silence than go against the established norms of society, where females are perceived to be inferior to men. Tradition and culture play a significant role in this acquiescence of the female populace to the roles delineated to them by society that were mostly crafted by men.
Women must learn to stand up and fight for their own rights. Gone are the days when men looked upon them as mere wives and mothers of their broods who must be the eternal slaves of the home and the marital room.
Women must first treat and respect themselves as co-equal with their men and stand on their own. Women must assert their inalienable rights by learning to say "NO". And they have to stand by it no matter what the consequences may be.
It is sad to note that during times of courtship, men literally give their women heaven and earth and everything that their women fancy. Men give them their undivided attention, profess their undying love for them to high heavens, promise them rose gardens, are so generous and thoughtful to them, and guard and protect them to death against rival suitors.
Alas, after they are married and after the honeymoons are over and the pressure of their peer groups (usually drinking buddies) mount, the timid and lovestruck grooms suddenly become the abusive lords and masters of the house. She is then relegated to become a veritable slave who has to clean the house, take care of the kids, wash and iron their clothes, cook their meals, wash the dishes and do all kinds of houseworks from morn till night.
And after their riotous drinking sprees are over, she becomes now the object of her husband's libidinous desires no matter how tired and unwilling she might be for such a tryst. It does not matter if he smells terrible, reeking with liquor, cigarettes and viands and sometimes smelling of urine in his pants. If she is unwilling, the drunk husband forces himself on her and she has to suffer the ignominy and pain of a marital rape.
Women legislators of all countries must craft laws that provide equal rights and protections for their female citizens against abuse and discriminations even by their own husbands. Prenuptial agreements must be signed by both groom and bride and their respective parents or guardians stipulating the basic and inalienable rights of the bride in their conjugal home. Any violation of said agreement by the husband can give the victim wife all the rights to sue her abusive husband. The state must guarantee the full implementation of these laws. Then and only then can true equality of the sexes be attained.
Remember wives, the first step to emancipation from abusive husbands is to learn to say "NO" and standing by it no matter what happens.
I Am Woman - Helen Reddy (1972) Australia
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Human Rights/Female Emancipation
Footnotes: This article was inspired by a similar article written by Ms. Sameera of India. We are glad to note that such discriminations are less in developed countries but they still prevail in third world and developing countries, particularly in Asia and Africa.
