Gloria Steinem’s fight for equal rights

“Gloria Steinem is a writer, lecturer, editor and feminist activist. She is an organizer and a frequent media spokeswoman on issues of equality. She is particularly interested in equal rights in marriage and the workforce. Ms. Steinem helped to found the Women's Action Alliance, a pioneering national information center that specialized in nonsexist, multiracial children's education, and the National Women's Political Caucus, a group that continues to work to advance the numbers of pro-equality women in elected and appointed office at a national and state level.” ( from the Official Website of Gloria Steinem)

I did not know Gloria Steinem before this work, but I completey agree with her ideas and goals. In the past, working was very hard and painful, and that is why only men worked and came back home with money. Women were submissive; they had to stay at home with the children, to cook, to iron and to clean. However, that time is over and we have to adapt to today's economy. Nowadays, women can work and earn money as much as men. They can be self-employed and have some financial responsibilities. Businesswomen are as good as businessmen and they are not afraid of working 10 hours a day. In a large majority of developed countries, we can easily observe the rise of the woman in the business world, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. In fact, some countries or companies still believe that women are inferior to men. They think that women are less smart and brave than men, and so decide to hire men. Personally, I do not agree with these stereotypes, I’m for sex equality in the workforce and I’m very proud of all these women who decide to go into business alone. This shows everyone that women are as able as men to be successful.

As far as marriage is concerned, it is the same principle. Both spouses should be equal, neither the spouse nor the wife should have more rights than the other. They have to be on an equal footing, whether it is for making a decision or filing for a divorce. For instance, I do not understand why some men refuse to vacuum-clean or to do the washing-up. It is not at all slighting and it is easy to do, so why do men avoid it? Moreover, I do not understand why the fact that a woman is unfaithful to her spouse is more controversial than the contrary. Does that mean that men can enjoy more liberty than women? If it is the case, I totally disagree with this double standard. About children, I think it is better when there are not many differences between the father and the mother. It avoids the problem of preference for one parent from the child and allows stability in the family. Finally, when the spouses do not get on well yet, they often decide to divorce. Again, I do not believe that one of both spouses deserves more than the other, except if they divorce for non-sentimental reasons.

Gloria Steinem is a feminist activist who deserves to be respected by all women. In fact, if we have the right to be what we are today, it is thanks to her and all the other women who fought for our well-being and liberty. In most countries, women can now work, earn money, vote, receive medical care and enjoy freedom of speech and equal rights in marriage. Let’s hope that it will be the case worldwide soon.

A mosque near Ground Zero?

Do you think Muslims would agree with the building of a church at a place where thousands of people died in an American attack?

Personally, I do not think so. I’m not racist at all and I support equality among human beings, whether they are Catholics, Protestants or Muslims. However, when a Catholic goes to a Muslim country, he/she has to wear modest clothing. Moreover, he/she has to leave his/her shoes outside people's houses. They do not mind if you are a Muslim or not. On the contrary, when Muslims come to Belgium, we let them wear the veil if it is what they want, even though they are not in a Muslim country. In fact, I think that Western countries are more open-minded and much more tolerant than Arabic or Eastern countries.

Nevertheless, to build a mosque near Ground Zero would be disrespectful. All Muslims are not terrorists, of course, but Ground Zero should be exclusively reserved for the victims’ families and friends. In my opinion, the problem is not the building of that kind of religious site, but the place itself. Muslims can build all mosques they want, in all sites they like, but not this one: Ground Zero should only be dedicated to the memory of the 09/11 attacks.

I think that the building of a church would be a mistake as well. The victims from the World Trade Center attacks were from everywhere. They were Muslim Tunisians, Catholic French, Hindu Vietnamese, Protestant Americans, but there were also plenty of people from other nationalities or belonging to other religions. That is why I would prefer the building of a multicultural site, or even better, a center in which everybody could engage in private prayer.

The Belgians' values

I have chosen to discuss Belgian patriotism and the notion of equality. First of all, I think that the Belgians love their country a lot. They are very proud of being Belgian, and really like to be famous worldwide for their chips, chocolate, waffles and mussels. From an architectural point of view, they show the same pride: they are proud of many places, such as the Manneken Pis of Brussels, the station of Antwerpen, and the canals of Brugge. This is my own opinion, but I think I am right because we can easily see patriotism in the streets, during festive events such as the Doudou (which takes place every year, in June, in Mons) or the carnival of Binche. We can also notice the Belgians’ patriotism when there are governmental problems in the country. For example, Flemish political parties have recently tried to divide the country in two. As a consequence, a large majority of the Belgians protested and fought together for a united country.

As far as equality in Belgium is concerned, I think that we are all more or less equal. Even if there are social differences (for example there are rich people and poor ones, illeterate people, tramps and migrant), men, women, gays, heterosexuals, foreigners, and native Belgians are all considered as equal in Belgium. Indeed, men and women have the same rights (men are not more privileged than women anymore, as it was in the past, women have the same chance to get a job and they can vote), immigrants and native Belgians enjoy the same help from the State in case of unemployment, blacks and whites get generally along well (Belgium is not at all racist in view of the number of established foreigners). Also, gays also enjoy the same opportunities as the heterosexuals. For example, they can get married and have children.