It’s the 21st Century, not the 20th

The clock strikes 8 o'clock and the test begins. This time, they have mixed it up and the writing section is first, followed by the multiple choice. It is either a surprise or the proctor does not know how to read directions. I open up the booklet and, just like my teacher warned me, there is a question about women. It reads, “Assess the ways in which women participated in and influenced TWO of the following: the Renaissance; the Reformation; the French Revolution.” However, another likely question could have been to assess gender equality and how were women treated during the 18th century, or any other century.
The matter of fact is that gender equality has been a major aspect of world history. The question above was taken from an AP European History test. Although gender equality, and mostly female inequality, has been an issue since the beginning of time, it is important to acknowledge that the times are changing, the 21st century is upon us. Therefore, with this change in time comes a change in importance of the issue.
Today’s society is geared towards equality in every aspect: religion, race, and gender of course. There might be some exceptions to this, like gender inequality in Saudi Arabia, but, for the most part, people are trying to improve equality. The entertainment business has long ago championed gender equality, but the workplace is making progress as well. More women are finally getting CEO positions, or even simply promotions. Since, progress is happening, it would be wise to let it grow on its own and focus on more concerning situations.
Saying this, I believe that society needs to partially avert its attention to issues of hunger, unemployment, and especially debt, here in the United States. The government needs to be concerned with the economy because the progression for gender equality has already been set in motion and will keep on moving on its own. This is not to say, however, that ignorance is to resume. Once people open their minds to the idea that women are as productive as men in the workplace, these people need to keep those minds open. In essence, one can’t merely block out one issue to solve another, but rather multitask with many problems at once.
Supporting evidence of the ‘moving on’ suggestion has been clearly made in a book by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay. The two women are, surprisingly, not attacking and blaming men for women’s inequality. They say that the laws have been laid down, and that there are no legal limitations for women like there were in the 20th century. Now, it is up to the women to succeed. One of the problems that causes this notion of gender inequality to still exist is the characteristic of confidence and the gap between men and women in this area. Men have always had the upper hand, dominating the work place and building strong self-confidence along with it. Women, on the other hand, seem to lack the great male confidence, and are, therefore, treated as inferior. The quality of a woman’s work might be equal, or even superior to the man’s, but low self-confidence is what is holding her back. Sometimes, appearance takes the dominating role over the work put into a project.
As I conclude, I feel that the past generations have been successful in bringing about an environment where women can succeed. It is the women’s turn now to take advantage of this new opportunity. Maybe in a couple decades, the work force will be more or less split evenly among the male and female gender, but why wait so long to start solving another issue. It is time to be less concerned with gender equality, and more with other persisting issues at hand.

Saudi Inequality

Aidah al-Nassar is a 37 year-old woman living in Medina, Saudi Arabia. She is married and has two children. Her husband is a businessman and works in the city, while Aidah has to stay at home and take care of the children. The family’s life is governed by Sunni Islam.
In the 2013 Global Gender Gap Report, the World Economic Forum released a ranking for gender parity from 136 countries. Saudi Arabia placed in the 127th place. Certain steps have been taken to fix gender inequality, yet many laws and traditions, including religious interpretation, still prohibit women from the rights they would have in other countries. Following is a section of a response from Aidah to what she has to say about the issue.
First, I would like to address the causes for the gender inequality in my country. Many people would believe that the Islamic religion is the sole factor for the many prohibitions placed on women. However, I tell you that is not the only factor. Even here, in Saudi Arabia, there exists a saying: “It’s the culture, not the religion.” Therefore, many of the laws come from the government and the traditional customs of the Arabian Peninsula. What outrages me the most is the fact that most of the gender laws that are in place are merely interpretations of the Sharia, or Islamic law. In my country, the Shaira is interpreted according to a Sunni form called Wahhabism, or the way of the righteous predecessor. Judges, or shall I say men, are left with discretionary power to exercise in favor of tribal traditions
On the upside, there have been some improvements in recent years. For example, in 2011 King Abdullah announced that women could finally take part in voting and running for office in the 2015 elections. More women are receiving a proper education. In fact, more of the university graduates in Saudi Arabia are woman than men. Having excellent qualifications, they are still not treated fairly in the workplace and gender separation is a prevailing problem.
This leads to the fact that nothing can mask the traditional and culture disadvantages we, as women, experience everyday. I have two children and a household to take care of, and yet I am not allowed to drive a car. Think of the many errands a mother in the Americas performs and how important it is to drive oneself to the store. But even if I were to walk to the market, I still need a male chaperone called a mahram, or a male relative. Our freedom of movement is severely restricted because of traditional beliefs in a patriarchal system of the past that should have long ago been abandoned.

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It is time now, that all the women in Saudi Arabia stand up and speak out against the problems gender inequality. We have suffered too long, and such an issue should most definitely not exist in the modern world we live in. The time has come to make a change, not to the religion, but to interpretation and custom. Equality for all!

Roger Federer

      Everyone has an idol he or she looks up to it. Whether it is sports, Hollywood, or other professional careers, the story of aspiring to be like these stars is a common one. The young generation tends to get obsessive about following exactly in their footsteps. This includes dressing, acting, and dieting in similar ways. Others search YouTube tutorials on how to exercise like their athlete idols. Some stars overuse this popular influence, but others remain like they were in their junior years: normal athletes who simply love their sport.
      As a tennis player myself, I have an athlete that I look up to: Roger Federer. Federer is Swiss professional tennis player and is currently ranked as second best in the world, after Novak Djokovic. Throughout his career he has been the number one player in the world for 302 weeks as recorded by the Association of Tennis Professionals. This is a world record. However, Federer doesn’t act like he is the best at all. His style of play is considered one of the best in the world and because it is so interesting to watch, Federer doesn’t need to promote himself in other ways.
     

This is why I look up to Federer. He does more than just playing a sport. He plays it with charisma and etiquette and really shows how complex and detailed the game of tennis can be. He doesn’t have the “show-off” attitude that some players have. I know that I am not going to be a professional player but I enjoy looking up to Federer as a role model. However, I don’t imitate his daily routines. I’ll leave that to the professionals.

Social Sports

Sports today are deemed to be a physical activity, yet it is largely overlooked that sports are also very much a social event as well. By this, one would naturally assume that the social gathering is preformed by the audiences and fans, but the athletes are also part of the social activity. Moreover, it is more involving to them than it is to the audience.
The normal situation, in which a group of people enjoy each other’s company, involves the members in communication. They talk, laugh, and probably eat, shop, or watch a movie. However, sports take it to the next level. It is specifically teamwork that engages the players more closely than in other situation. Not only do the athletes have to talk to each other, but they are also working together. The sports require collective action, strategy, and playing as one. In the professional world, each player has to be in the other’s mind as well. They know each other well through the many years of practice together, so they can predict each other’s actions. Signals sometime may be used interchangeably with speech in the case of the players being far from each other. Therefore, being an athlete on a team sport is extremely social. There is a unity that consists of mind, talk, action, and signals that come together to achieve the final goal: victory.
Examples of this exist everywhere. In soccer and basketball, the players shout to each other, notifying of their open position. When it comes time for a break or a time-out, the players huddle and discuss strategy or further action. They are working to achieve success, and they need to work as one team, not as individual players. In football, it’s the same thing. The athlete will call out a play in code before snapping the football and the players run their routes in order to coordinate their offensive play. Another example exists in volleyball. Teamwork and communication become very important when setting up a spike to score the point. First, the team needs to know in which order they will receive the ball and get it close to the net for the spike. Thus, the players call the volleyball if they know they can hit it, so that collisions don’t happen. Beforehand, the tallest players are placed near the net and they are the ones that will execute the spike, so that there is a minimal chance of a return. The action takes place in a matter of seconds, and each player needs to anticipate where the ball is going to be hit.
Because most sports are team sports, they are social and, therefore, more enjoyable to play. However, there are sports that involve a single player, like golf or swimming. I play tennis, and I have a choice. Tennis can be a single player sport, or it can involve a two-person team. It is because of the teamwork and social aspect of doubles play that I choose to play with a partner. The game becomes more complex and involves more creativity. I have to have a set number of plays that I can execute with my partner, and strategies that will change depending on the opponents. On breaks between the games, we have to be quick to come of with new plans in order to stay ahead. Therefore, by only adding one partner to the game, it become a physical activity involving speaking and signaling. The signals, like in other sports, are communicated with one hand behind the back of the player at the net.
Sports are as equally physical as they are social. They are a great benefit to one’s health, and social life. The best part of a team sport is the celebration afterwards from a victory. Therefore, those of you that don’t play, take a look at sports again. Not all sports have to be competitive and playing recreationally is as much fun. So get out there, enjoy the fresh air, and play!