All women born between 1940 and 1960 do not officially fit into the Baby-Boomer category but have much in common. In North America and much of Europe, women fought gender equality battles and not just in the workplace. Parents often assigned kitchen duties to their daughters, while their son’s only job was to take out the garbage once a week. Fathers went out to work and mothers stayed home to cook, clean, and care for the children. Rarely did women enter university and were not admitted to schools leading to professions such as lawyer, doctor, engineer or architect. There were some exceptions. One of them was the small Nordic country Finland. As early as 1940s there was a large number of women professionals in the country. Over the years, we have seen more and more women as heads of state, Israel, India, Norway, Philippines, and England to name a few.
Unfortunately, even today, a large number of women and girls in the world are nowhere near equality and are still subject to violence on a daily basis. Their social status is less than that of an animal. Some are required to cover their entire body and view their surroundings through a slit in the heavy dark garment they wear even in very hot climates. These women raise their children according to their traditions meaning that boys and girls learn their roles early in life. So, it goes on.
With the help of many charitable organizations, political activists, and regional banks some countries are fighting poverty and witnessing changes. Women are gaining self esteem through specialized training where they learn to monetize their skills. Some set up small businesses and hire women workers who in turn make money to support their families. Girls are offered an opportunity to go to school where not so long ago, learning to read and write were completely out of their reach.
Yet, with so many encouraging projects taking place, women have much more work to do. Let us hope that we see positive changes take place in the years to come.
By Natasha Morgan of NotJustTheKitchen
