Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol. 38, No. 18. July 23rd 1975
Education
Education
From youth we are socialised into believing that women are physically weaker than men. The physically lighter jobs like housework will be allocated to the girls and heavier jobs like carrying heavy objects will be allocated to the men. For centuries women have been blinded by such thoughts. We are kept from knowing that during the prehistoric times, men and women went out hunting alike. If the women stayed at home, it was a matter of convenience as they had babies to nurse, and could also gather edible food in the vicinity, it was not a matter of inferiority in physical strength.
It is only through the long years of suppression, that we women appear physically weak. Now, women have courageously broken the chain to engage themselves in construction sites and have proved themselves not physically weaker than men. Women in countries like Tanganika employed in railway construction are doing heavier manual work than the men are doing The incorporation of Vietnamese women into the People's way against the intrusion of the U.S. army, suggests that women are still a great force of a country, except that they are not allowed to express themselves during normal times.
The social belief that 'once married, girls belong to their husband' restricts the educational opportunities of the girls. Although at present, we see that many women have been able to attain higher education such as of university level, within a family unit, it is always the men who are given the chance for higher education should a dilemma arise. Thus to say that men and women are given equal educational opportunity is a fraud propagated by those people who try to obscure women from figuring for equality
Social behaviour and thoughts are the products of the social structure. Why are people from some countries of this world liberated from such old-fashioned and unhealthy beliefs, while our people still cling onto it.