Women as The Weaker Sex : Will it ever change?

A man driving through a sprint expressway encountered a car in which he dubbed as 'slow' and 'driven with lack of maneuvering skills'. The first thought that sprung to his mind was, "Must be a woman."

'The weaker sex' - that is how women are perceived by the society we live in. Even with the constant advancement of technology and modernisation, traditional mindsets pertaining to women remain unchanged within our so-called modern society. Women organisations and movements (e.g: AWAM) and campaigns (e.g: The White Ribbon Campaign) continue to pop up sporadically around the globe, yet we still hear about violence against women and exploitation of women in local media and international ones alike every single day. Are women really, as they say, 'the weaker sex'?

Although gender stereotyping is nothing new to us, the intensity should have decreased from its original value after the many changes undergone by our country over the past few years. Even with the increase in number of women climbing the tower of success in various fields (e.g: politics, entrepreneurship, etc), women are still condemned as 'second-rate' citizen compared to man. Their occasional 'mood swings' are said to be the main reason leading to the widespread belief of women as vulnerable and too delicate to lead.

It is not so cruel to say that the stereotyping is made stronger by women themselves. When it comes to the term 'heartbreak', people usually relate it to women and their emotional turmoil. This is not to say that men are not affected by heartbreaks, but women are usually the ones who suffer the impact the most. They tend to let themselves sink into depression rather than trying to take positive measures to overcome the problems at hand. Some women even cry too much, sinking further and further into depression, wallowing in self-pity. Even though I am still young, I am also a woman. I have also been through many hardships of life - physically, mentally, emotionally.

Women movements and campaigns can only do so far, they help women deal with public rights and such. Women may also seek help from the many women organisations for services such as counseling but I seriously think that the only way to stop being labeled 'the weaker sex' is by standing up to ourselves. We will hardly achieve anything by showing our misery for the world see, hoping for sympathy. We are the ones who can stop our own tears, build a strong pillar of determination to shield ourselves from being exploited by others. Believe it or not, we can be strong without relying on someone else's shoulder.

Keep in mind that although women may be delicate, but they are not weak. 'Weak' may translate to 'delicate' but 'delicate' does not necessarily mean 'weak'.