Girls who are beaten or burnt to death for not accepting arranged marriages. Girls being told that they cannot do sports like football or rugby. Boys who are bullied for wearing makeup and enjoying fashion. These are some of the problems faced by males and females because of gender inequality. Do you think it is fair?

Gender inequality happens when men and women are stereotyped by societal norms and do not have the same rights or opportunities in society. There is inequality between men and women on how they are valued and how they should behave.

Gender inequality has been existing in the world for centuries. Many societies are patriarchal, so they believe that men are better than women and boys are more valued than girls. For example, baby girls in China are left on the streets to die because families prefer boys. There are 130 million girls who cannot get an education in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, one billion women who cannot open a bank account themselves for example in Saudi Arabia, 39,000 girls a day who are forced to be child brides in countries like India or Yemen, and women everywhere who get less money than a man for the same work. These are some of the problems in the world of gender inequality.

How can we change the problem of Gender inequality in society? It is difficult for one person to make changes because the issue of Gender inequality is deep set in our society and minds. However, if many voices join together, we can make a difference. Especially, if celebrities, politicians or important people talk about Gender equality, more people will listen and change can happened more quickly. In 2018, many celebrities signed an open letter led by international charity ONE to push world leaders to work harder for gender equality.

“ If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.”—Barack Obama. Just like what President Obama said, even though the road to Gender equality in the world is not easy; As long as we continue believing in the right things and fighting for progress we will make change in future.

Although as teenagers we are young and may not have much influence in the world, we must speak up when we see Gender inequality and stand up for our Gender rights. Gender equality may not happened in our life time, but we must continue to fight for it as it is important so that future Generations can enjoy equality in this society. Just like how Malala Yousafzai The Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2014 advocated for girls rights to education since she was only eleven years old, we must also not be afraid to stand up for Gender equality so that the world can be a happier place.