1.Women are not inferior to men: there seems to be a misconception in the minds of almost every man in the society that women are or should be subservient to men. This misconception usually arises due to differences in the body structures of males and females. The manner in which the women’s body is designed is such that it is capable of reproducing. The weight that their bodies can lift or the physical work that they do is lesser as compared to men, however this does not make them inferior to men. Women work to their fullest (their fullest could be less than a man’s) but this by no means implies that women are incapable of carrying out physical work. Leaving aside manual work, coming to technical work, automatically it is assumed that men will be better at it. However this is not true.
2. Women are not entitled to work only in the kitchen: some male members treat women in their family as individuals who are entitled and expected only to work in the kitchen. They are not considered being capable of taking important decisions like financial decisions in the family. Even in today’s times men just expect women to be great cooks and want them to be perfect homemakers. It is important to teach our sons that it is an added advantage that their better halves can work in the kitchen however it is not unacceptable if the woman doesn’t know how to cook or be a perfect homemaker.
3. Women’s work is not just to raise kids: the other stereotype relating to women in society is that their major purpose in life should be to reproduce and become good mothers. Fine I understand that the bible mentioned something similar in reference to Eve and I don’t want to hurt any religious sentiments here. It is important for each one of us to realise that times have changed, women are capable of a lot more than just reproducing and women have proved this several times. Also our sons should learn that not all women want to raise kids these days; there are millions of women who would rather focus on their careers than think about kids. So it is important for men to understand that not all women want kids, this is just a stereotype which has been propagating since ages.
4. Women deserve equal respect in the family: like I mentioned earlier it is important that the members of the family especially the male members treat women with equal and due respect. It is important that the efforts and work that they put in to ensure the smooth functioning of the family should not be left unaccounted.
5. Women are capable of running the family all by them self: there is a misconception that a woman won’t be able to run a family, why not? I personally know women who earn more than their husbands. The major financial expenditure is then actually paid from the woman’s salary, however such cases are just a few in our country. Although they are very famous oversees. It is important that our sons are taught that they should not feel like they are the only ones capable of running the families functions smoothly, their wives can undoubtedly do it as and when they are given an opportunity.
6. Women have freedom over their lives and in decision making: women especially in our country do not have rights to take important decisions of their lives. Usually the male figure, be it the father or the brother takes the decisions on their behalf. This is unfair and this system needs to change as soon as possible. We should teach our sons that their wives, daughters and sisters are capable of taking their own decisions and also that they are ready to take responsibility of the same as well. Thus our sons should let them deal with their life decisions independently.
7. Women should be given equal treatment: it is distressing to note that women aren’t given equal treatment when it comes to salaries, working conditions and even job posts. Women mostly aren’t considered capable of holding high posts such as that of a CEO in a multinational company. It is sad to note that the only industry in the world where women are paid more than men is pornography. So it is important that we teach our sons that women deserve equal treatment in all fields of work as well as in the family.
8. Men shouldn’t treat women as objects: women command respect and thus shouldn’t be objectified, however media today is portraying women as objects in various advertisements. Womenfolk comprise of 50 percent of the population and are the birth givers; they deserve a lot more respect than what they are shown to be receiving in films, posters or advertisement. We need our sons to know that women are as strong, brave and powerful individuals and not just mere objects in the hands of the male domineering society.
9. Stop physical voilence against women: one thing that we particularly need to teach our sons is that they should never indulge into marital rape, physical violence or domestic abuse. Women are not objects and thus should not be treated that way. We should rather teach our sons to spread the message of women empowerment. The society will progress only if the male folk will join hands in order to improve the position of their counterparts. Thus it becomes really important that we teach or sons and grandsons how to respect women and give them the respect that they rightfully deserve.
Conclusion: its important that the male folk of the population joins hands in empowering their counterparts, empowering women. The situation of women in this society will improve not just with the efforts of the ladies but also with the help of men around them.
