Equal Rights for Men and Women – Term Paper

Issue of Equal Rights Between Men and Women

Firstly, I am a big proponent of equal rights for men and women. Clearly, the Bible precedents and gospel says that treat thy neighbor as though it was you. The issue of equal rights between men and women dates back over close to a century. In the United States of America, the women suffrage led to the amendment of the constitution in regards to voting rights in 1923. The fight for women rights have been fought over the years, and it has garnered major support from populist women groups like the National Organization for Women who went ahead in 1971 and called for Congress to approve the Equal Rights Amendment. The amendment called for the neutrality of gender lines, which is the abolition of any form of discrimination that is gender based. I would like to make it clear that the success gained in the advocacy for equal rights between men and women have led to women having more rights than men. The male gender is suffering at the cost of creating a palatable gender balanced environment for women. 

The judicial system is always readily available to come to the help of any woman who is denied any form of basic human rights based on their gender. The sensitivity of the matters of women to the judicial system is highly unfair as men do not have the same level of privilege as women do. The issue of equal rights between both genders is still a battle that has yet to have a truce called upon. The fact is that women have been awarded much more attention than men in judicial systems. It is the inherent ability of women to complain even in situations that no rights have been denied and the courts always come into their rescue.

Many women claim that women work more and are paid less for the same amount of work their male counterparts undertake. Taking a view from the sidelines, one would see that the society of today fosters the growth of women careers and enterprises more than any other centuries. It is critical also to understand that men on the other end have raised concerns over the loan facilities available to women to lead enterprises, contracts acquisition, and job placement have been tuned to favor women. This is highly contradictive as women complain of inequality of rights while more opportunities are set out open for women more than men. Women are favored right at the workplace, financial institutions, and the judicial system. Any man would easily say that women are much more powerful as compared to men in this century. 

Equal Rights Amendment

I believe that the courts are very unfair to men when it comes to settlement of divorce cases.  In many divorce scenarios in American courts and other parts of the world, the male compatriot is always forced pay for alimony fees and is given the stipulated periods of visiting their children. The aspect of division of a man’s wealth by half and subsequent payment of alimony is highly financially costly to men. It is, therefore, impractical to say that women are undermined in the society we live in. It is impractical to claim that women are undermined in the society we live in, taking a look at issues surrounding pregnancy and paternity of children. Women have the right to keep or lose the child they are carrying, men have no say when it comes to this issue. On the other hand, whether a man decides to stay with her or not, he is still liable to pay child support for the next 18 years whether he likes it or not. The above scenario is just one that shows that women have more rights than men in society. Everyday experiences paint the picture that women are the favored gender in today’s society. 

In order to have a society that is indiscriminate to either gender, then any form of favors that is pushed in women’s ways should also be directed to the male gender. Women cannot claim their rights on the suffering of their male counterparts. Looking into institutional support women are given be it, judicial rights, financial assistance and job placement, women are the biggest benefactors. Though men are awarded the same rights as compared to women, women are awarded lower interest loans, they are given much more attention in the court systems and have a better job security as compared to men. Going by the perspective that men are inherently survivors, men do suffer, and no one is there to help them out. In most cases, men’s pleas can be taken as a show of weakness and e-masculinity. I believe women and men should share the same equal rights as it is expected by the constitution. Despite what we are going through it is important that these changes and inequality activities should be eradicated for fairness to prevail. Women have the right to decide if they are to keep or lose the baby and men have no opinion to that, I believe that men also have a say in this because the feelings of a man are not put into consideration. There are numerous examples of a situation where men’s rights are denied by the virtue of being male, and women are elated on the basis of being female, the weaker species per se. I would like to make it clear that men are suffering despite the existence of an Equal Rights Amendment, equal rights mean 50-50. Men are suffering at the expense of government and nongovernment institution advocacy for the rights of women, as a woman, it is clear to note that we do care about our men. Hence it is imperative that men too are treated with dignity and awarded the equal share of the rights they deserve.