A woman’s world

The global struggle for justice and equality among humanity has not ended. It has not achieved its objectives either. However, we could say that an advanced level has been achieved in the third millennium in comparison to previous centuries, and even during the aftermath of WWII.
The direct influence of globalization can be seen in the telecommunications revolution, which has opened up opportunities for human interaction among nations and individuals. This provided less developed societies the opportunity to achieve noticeable progress in democracy and equality between men and women, which used to be one of the most difficult issues in the world to address. This issue hid behind the walls of the Cold War, which prevented any advancement of equality between men and women.
Older societies were more harsh and oppressive, especially towards women, who were distanced from the male portion of society. Women were subjected to multiple levels of compounded oppression.
However, women’s issues have made continuous achievements in recent years related to social development all over the world and the struggle for women’s rights within their societies. The results of such achievements have promoted the level of political and social influence of the woman in many societies all over the world. Perhaps women’s participation in the levels of decision-making is clearer among political and cultural elites more than on the societal level. The increase in women’s presence and their influence on such levels point to a transformation within society.
Feminization may be occurring because of a general longing to reduce the masculine hard line, which has ruled the world for thousands of years. If female candidates (such as the French Socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal and American presidential candidate Hillary Clinton) were to occupy leading positions in major world capitals in the coming few years, then the world of tomorrow could be more tolerant, symbolically at least. Already today, there are women in leading positions in the West as well as the East.
Perhaps it is still too early to aspire for the arrival of women to leading government positions in the Arab world. However, it is important to point out the achievements women have made on the cultural level. The most important progress has been made in fiction. Women novelists have proven their artistic and stylistic distinction by expressing themselves and their female counterparts without using or employing anything masculine.
On the Palestinian level, we could mention that female filmmakers as cultural achievers of real importance, who are becoming a significant part of Palestinian cinema. Their contributions include directing movies and documentaries that have not only dealt with women’s issues but also proved their capacity to be socially and culturally effective, highlighting equality as one of the keys to freedom of oppressed nations under occupation.
Rajab Abu Sariyya is a Palestinian writer in Gaza.