Gender equality – When the term is said, we immediately start thinking of men and women and the differences between them in our society. Do we think of other genders? Do we know how many genders are there apart from male and female? No or maybe few. But the actuality is there are different genders of people living all over the world. Without being aware of this, we just speak only about males and females or transgender at times. When we speak about the difficulties faced by them, are we also adding the opportunities and recognition they got along with this? No. It is our responsibility to give equal importance to the good and bad in our society. So, let’s try to understand the myths and facts about the some more commonly known genders – male, female and transgender.

MALE AND FEMALE

I would like to start with the good changes in society for women that are left unrecognized most of the time. Starting with the change in family backgrounds, we had certain roles and responsibilities to be played, as men should work in the outside world, and women were stereotyped to carry out household chores in the olden times. But now we live in the era where both men and women work in the corporate world and share the household responsibilities equally. So, no longer there exists a male chauvinistic society. Still, we talk about the olden scenario rather than the reality. Talking about social development is as important as raising a voice for the differences.

Moving on to the traditional differences, I already said women are stereotyped to play certain roles which are being criticized as a major difference. But the reality is women are said to carry out household chores as they are the physical exercises a woman can do. Those days there were no corporate jobs. All the men had to do physical work which women couldn’t carry out and she shouldn’t do as it affects her uterus. This was the scientific reason behind the traditional practices. And again, this is also misinterpreted as women are made to sit in their houses.

The next one is about male-dominant domains – Women emerge and maintain their place in every field making every domain equal for both genders. They work in prominent roles in the so-called male-dominant domains such as Army, Navy, Airforce, and many more. Still, certain fields come under the dominance of men even after women laid their step into it. For example, they have already started driving autos changing the tag “male dominant domains”. But we recognize this as their special talent than treating them equally. All men and women are equally bestowed by the lord and there is nothing special when a woman does the same a man does. 

TRANSGENDERS

Coming to the transgenders, the myth is they are not given enough support and chances to prove themselves. But the fact is they are provided with opportunities to showcase their talents. The difference is between whether they utilize it effectively or not. They are persons like Kalki Subramaniam who changed her identity from transgender to an entrepreneur cum inspirational speaker and some individuals are asking alms from the people in public places instead of standing on their legs. 

So, many such good things are happening around in our society. We should feel proud and accept the changes taking place rather than complaining blindly. NGOs are working for different genders other than the above-mentioned to grant the place they deserve in society. It all depends on how we perceive them. Let us look deep into them and together build a better society.