Dan Morris: Pushing for a fairer world

A previous chief at Weekend Towers asked me to do this for an assignment years ago, and since then, every time March 8 rolls around, my head goes back to the same place.

As a man, I’ll never know what it’s like to be a woman.

I’ll never have to deal personally with the issues that women face on a daily basis, or face the particular adversity that many women experience purely because of their gender.

The truth is, that as a white, middle-class male in his 30s, adversity of any kind isn’t something I’m accustomed to.

It should be the same for everyone. It isn’t. We need to do better.

To this day there remain parts of the world where women are denied the right to education, where young girls are forced into marriage to men three times their age, and where human rights are not applied simply due to the absence of a Y chromosome.

As a father to a daughter, I find it incredibly troubling that there are those who would consider her less because she is a ‘she’, and that had she been born in certain corners of the globe, her fate would have been unthinkable.

I’ve got high hopes for my daughter. She’s cheeky, clever, forthright and kind. I’m constantly filled with excitement when I think about the future that awaits her, the opportunities she will have, and the world that she will get to be a part of.

If she wants to, she will be able to become an astronaut, an engineer, a virtuoso musician, a doctor, a judge, a teacher, an athlete, an author, a stock broker, a driver or a dancer. And – if all the good jobs are taken – she could even give Prime Minister a go. There are women in her world, such as her 99-year-old great grandmother, who never would have dared dream of the chances that will be available to my daughter and her peers by the time she comes of age.

Some things do seem to have moved forward, but appearances can be deceptive when you then consider things on a global scale.

UN Women is an organisation that is working toward gender equality at all levels, in all areas of society.

As the charity’s website highlights, at the current pace, a girl born today will be nearly 40 years old before women hold as many seats in Parliament as men.

With reference to true gender equality across the world, UN Women also states that if nothing changes, this will not be achieved until centuries into the future.

UN Secretary General António Guterres sums up the situation thus: “Women’s rights are being abused, threatened, and violated around the world. Progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes.

“In Afghanistan, women and girls have been erased from public life.

“In many places, women’s sexual and reproductive rights are being rolled back.

“In some countries, girls going to school risk kidnapping and assault.

“In others, police prey on vulnerable women they have sworn to protect.

“Gender equality is growing more distant. On the current track, UN Women puts it 300 years away.”

To repeat my previous point, I will never know that adversity that many women face simply because they are women. That gives me no right to sit down and put up with the status quo.

What on Earth would my daughter think if I were to do that?

For her and girls of her generation who are far, far less fortunate, it is vital that everybody continues to push for a fairer world for women, and it is crucial that we all think about this more frequently than once a year on March 8.

International Women’s Day may help remind us of important issues that need to be dealt with, but alone it isn’t enough. Everybody has a duty day-in and day-out to keep the flame burning and the progress moving.

I’m not a revolutionary; I’m not even an activist. But to ensure my little girl gets the best world she can (and the one she deserves) I’m going to make sure I think about gender equality a lot more and do whatever I can to help speed things up. 

This is a responsibility belonging to every parent, partner, brother and sister that can help half of the planet’s population get what it should have by right: an equal voice. 

If we can’t do better than 300 years, the whole world should be ashamed.

To find out how you can help UN Women’s efforts, visit www.unwomenuk.org