Women have the natural right to be a leader under the law. If one denies this proposition, then they are effectively saying that women aren’t fully human. And if women aren’t fully human, then they can’t have full human rights like men. This means that men can have power over them, much like a father over his daughter, and women have no agency to determine their own lives. But this isn’t right. Women are fully human, and they deserve to be recognized as fully human. If society denies women this right, then they go against God’s natural order, for human rights are given by God, not the state. Therefore, women are equal to men and should be given the opportunity to lead when appropriate.
Violence Against Women
Society must never violate women’s human rights. If women aren’t seen as fully human, it has disastrous consequences. There was a time in Brazil when men were permitted to beat their wives and girlfriends to death. A man could claim in court that he was momentarily out of his mind because the woman offended his honor. The courts ruled that the man didn’t form a criminal intent to harm the woman, so he virtually committed no crime.
Women in Honduras are killed by their husbands and boyfriends savagely and the men aren’t held accountable. These men do so because they believe the women are in some ways their property and that society engenders that belief in them. In a society where women are naturally inferior to men, harming them or even killing them doesn’t ignite any indignation that the action was wrong. Therefore, a society that doesn’t recognize women’s rights is a society that disgraces God, for it leads to women’s mistreatment and society’s degradation.
Women’s Contribution in History
One must read some history to figure out that women are essential to civilization beyond their maternal role. The famous Orientalist Bernard Lewis wrote in his book “What Went Wrong?” that the Ottoman Empire struggled in large part because women weren’t allowed to work. As the Europeans were beating them on technological advances, the Ottomans didn’t have the human capital to compete. One Ottoman leader said that the empire’s other half of its body was effectively “paralyzed” because women didn’t participate in the economy. We saw this in Nazi Germany. When the Germans were on the defensive in 1943 on both fronts, Hitler had to consider relaxing his gender policy to beat the Allies in the war effort. Albert Speer, the minister of armaments and war production, pushed the idea to Hitler and eventually won Hitler’s favor. When women entered the work force, German production went up and it kept the Germans in the war much longer. The same thing happened in America during WW2, as women entered ship building yards to build boats, aircraft carriers and submarines alongside men. America won in large part because of women contributing to the war effort. Thus, one sees that women are essential to a civilization’s progress.
Men’s Responsibility
We men must take responsibility for our mistreatment towards women. For centuries, women were held back systematically from progressing as human beings because of a male dominated society. Marie Curie was an outstanding scientist, and she made indelible contributions in physics and chemistry. She changed the world. But think of how many Marie Curies didn’t get the opportunity to realize themselves in the world. Think of all the wasted talent they had. It is an absolute tragedy that those women died with their dreams unrealized, and we men should be ashamed of ourselves. It is a crime to hold anyone back from achieving greatness in their life, and us men did it to women for centuries. Women are not men’s property but have inalienable rights that come from the hand of God. Thus, women’s anger towards men is understandable.
I believe true conservatives hold to the 18th century ideals of human rights and freedom firmly. But progressives understand that recognition of rights have been held back from various groups, and that requires remedial action. This is why, as a progressive conservative, I believe that women must be seen as equal to men under the law. We must work hard to include more women in leader roles if they qualify for those roles and have earned them. We must ensure that we create a more inclusive society based on merit and hard work. We must create a system based on equality of opportunity instead of equality of outcome.
Rebuke of Identity Politics
I push back very hard against liberals because they champion a system that focuses too much on identity politics. They are obsessed with the leader being a woman or black man but seldom consider whether they are fit for the job. I believe this system leads to discrimination and commits the same sin it is designed to eradicate. I also believe many liberals are too coercive when it comes to their left-wing ideas. They shame someone if they disagree with them, and try to indoctrinate children to think like them. I believe many feminists took things too far and have effectively damaged relations between men and women, and have contributed to Western culture’s decay. This needs to be recognized.
Conclusion
Women are an essential part of society. History proves that without women, the world would be a much poorer place. Women have been undervalued and unrecognized for centuries. This is our fault as men, and we must take responsibility. However, there are many feminists who put men down and try to have power over them. They are effectively hypocritical and thus lose their legitimacy as victims of male oppression. We have to work together as equals. Men and women must be cooperative and collaborative instead of combative and divisive. We, as a world, must understand the primacy of women’s rights. And we must never allow women to have their rights unjustly taken from them by anyone. Let’s stop looking at men or women. Let’s look at ourselves as human beings. Let’s stop looking at women as “they” or “them”, let’s look at women as “we” and “us”. We are all in this together, so let’s work together to make the world better for the next generation after us. I hope my opinion was clear.
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