© 2004 Olga López
© 2004 Urantia Association of Spain
I remember that at the time, a paragraph from document 84, “Marriage and Family Life,” caught my attention:
“In the ideals of pair marriage, woman has finally won recognition, dignity, independence, equality, and education; but will she prove worthy of all this new and unprecedented accomplishment? Will modern woman respond to this great achievement of social liberation with idleness, indifference, barrenness, and infidelity? Today, in the twentieth century, woman is undergoing the crucial test of her long world existence!”. UB 84:5.10
This paragraph led me to reflect on whether women of our time are earning the recognition and dignity so often discussed. Later, when, on the occasion of the transition from 1999 to 2000, we heard so many reflections and recapitulations about what the 20th century has meant for the history of humanity, there was one thing on which virtually all analysts agreed: at the dawn of the 21st century, women have not achieved, even in the most advanced societies, a situation of full equality with men. Not only that, but in most of the world’s nations, women are still considered “second-class people.”
Full equality between men and women is undoubtedly the pending issue that we will continue to drag on for much of the next century. It is true that, at least in Western societies, women have been gaining recognition, conquering areas of power once reserved exclusively for men, but often at too high a price, renouncing family life, motherhood… In short, I have the impression that many women in prosperous societies have fallen into the trap of seeking equality by emulating men, when in reality I believe the key lies in achieving that equality, while still taking into account our particularities and differences. As stated on page 938, paragraph 2:
“Each sex has its own distinctive sphere of existence, together with its own rights within that sphere. If woman aspires literally to enjoy all of man’s rights, then, sooner or later, pitiless and emotionless competition will certainly replace that chivalry and special consideration which many women now enjoy, and which they have so recently won from men.” UB 84:5.12
This equality should not be achieved in competition with men, but rather by complementing them. It’s not about taking the “war of the sexes” to its worst extremes, but rather about cooperating together, taking advantage of our specific gifts:
“The differences of nature, reaction, viewpoint, and thinking between men and women, far from occasioning concern, should be regarded as highly beneficial to mankind, both individually and collectively. Many orders of universe creatures are created in dual phases of personality manifestation (…) Such dual associations greatly multiply versatility and overcome inherent limitations…” UB 84:6.5
So, if men and women walked together and stopped competing with each other and striving to dominate one another, the social and spiritual evolution of humanity would be significantly enhanced. Men and women are “condemned” to understand each other, not only in this life but at all stages of our journey toward Paradise, since the “femininity” or “masculinity” with which we are born will never completely abandon us. Let us therefore begin to understand each other from the beginning of our journey.
Many gestures are being made by governments that seek to create a “fiction” of equality. Personally, I can’t help but find it pure “politically correct” formalism, the eagerness of today’s politicians (at least in my country) to emphasize in their speeches the use of “male and female citizens,” “male and male workers,” as if we didn’t care about them by using a single noun. On the other hand, there are practices of “positive discrimination,” such as the one that has led the French government to require political parties to include 50% women on their electoral lists, alternating with men. This is another measure that, although well-intentioned, I don’t believe will contribute to the desired equality.
For me, true equality will be achieved when no one thinks of counting the number of women on an electoral list, just as it would be absurd to count the number of blondes and blue-eyed candidates. It will be achieved when no one considers it worthy of mention that a woman is part of a space flight, when it is merely anecdotal that a woman presides over the government of a powerful nation, as would be the case in the United States. When men and women share household chores 50/50, if both contribute to the economic support of the family.
Unfortunately, I still see that day as a distant prospect. Because I don’t believe it can be achieved in just one country or a small group of countries: it must be achieved across the entire planet. And today, despite the “globalization” in which we live, there are still far too pronounced cultural and social differences between peoples.
But some progress has been made, and we must remain optimistic. The future lies in women taking their rightful place, which was denied to them for thousands of years, helping to create a more just society where peace and harmony reign.