By Maria Dassum 

Being a woman hasn’t been easy, especially in the past. I remember reading the famous book “A Handmaid’s Tale”, as a junior in high school and was completely shocked that there could be a society in which, women were viewed simply as a womb. Yet, thinking back, this was what happened everywhere in the world. It is actually known that men during the Greek empire preferred the company of other men because they considered women to be simply a reproductive medium. Women´s voices were never heard; they were never considered or valued. However, there have been many women in history that have surpassed all the narrow mindedness and proved all their capacity and power. These women not only demonstrated their intelligence but also created a precedent for future generations.

In Joan of Arc, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Indira Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Margaret Thatcher, Frida Kahlo, Queen Victoria and Hilary Clinton, we can see the importance of women though time. Women have powerful positions today. Yet, conditions are still not equal.  A woman today will earn 79 cents for every dollar a man earns doing the same exact job. It’s important to recognize the problem and the circumstances. Politics and social conventions should help equate the situation. However, all women have to be on the same side of the fight and sometimes it is women who underestimate their power to change the world. We need to start by valuing ourselves in order to make the world value us for our true worth.  I believe women can do everything that men can, and vice versa.  Gender equality will make us see each other on a wider spectrum. All the potential that men and women have will be empowered.

I think that those countries, where women are mainly considered objects and property will never develop completely. Women have the right to be educated, to choose if they want a family, who they want to love, and so many more rights that will definitely empower their decision making in their live. Therefore, I also think men also should have the same rights. Freedom is “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” Consequently I think that once we start letting each other be free and equal, the world will progress in a way we can’t even imagine.  This will prevent “A Handmaid’s Tale” society that we all would regret in the end.