As a teenager, I am constantly told that girls and boys should be equal. Keyword, should.

I
am also constantly reminded that men and women are stereotyped. We think that men
should do a certain thing and girls can't. That is taking out this equality we are talking about.
Yes, there are things certain boys can do better than girls, but that does not mean every
man is like that, or every girl is like that. Being equal is not about who can do what and who
cannot.
For some reason, we hear a lot about women trying to show that we are just as good as
men, by trying to become them. Does this make us equal? I don't think so. To me, it's saying,
girls can do what guys do and we are going to become like them to prove that we are just
like them, making us all equal. Well why do women have to become like men? Why can't
men become more like women? Or why can't we just meet in the middle? Lots of questions, I
know. Let me ask another one. If that isn't gender equality, then what is? We're going to play
around with that question so you can understand what I'm saying.
Let me change this question a bit and make it simpler. What is gender equality? To my
understanding, gender equality is both genders evenly alike as a whole. Now, wait. What
does that mean? Evenly alike as a whole? Who even speaks like that in the real world?
Apparently, I do. Let me put it this way, take everybody in the world and put them together
as one person. Not man, nor woman. Which I know is hard to imagine, but just go with me
here. Now think of all that they are capable of doing. Split it back up into everybody in the
world. We are all capable of doing what that one person was able to do. We become more
alike when we are put together as a whole. Still don't get it? That's okay; let me try
explaining it differently. You cannot picture equality if you don't look at the whole picture.
Think of a painting. In a painting, many things make up that picture. One stroke, then
another. Each stroke different, but as a whole it is all alike. We all have our differences, but
put together we are just one. As one of my teachers put it, "I am you, and you are me. I am
him, and he is me." We are all just one; even. That is when you can start to see equality.
Now hold it. Are we all really capable of what another does? I believe so. Now don't take me
the wrong way here, I am saying we are capable of it. Men are just as capable as women are
to nurture a child. It can be done! Society may let us think only women can, but that is not
true. Let me remind you, we all are one. Making us all capable of the same thing! So yes, I
believe that includes a man being able to nurture a child. However, just because we are able
to do what another does, does not mean we are all going to be great at the same thing.
Unfortunately, we cannot be as fast as somebody else, or sing as great as somebody else.
Like I said we are capable of the same things, but we all have our own talents. That's what
makes us more equal, in my opinion.
Wait, what? Now we're equal when we are different? Hard concept to understand, I know. I'm
still trying to understand it myself. Here I am, telling you about how we are all able to do the
same thing, and now I'm telling you that people are going to be better and that still makes
us equal? How does that work? Think about the painting analogy once again. Each stroke is
different, but as a whole, it is one picture. Every person is different, but put us all together,
and we are one. We are equal.
I know this is a lot to take in, and quite the subject to talk about. I could go on and on trying
to explain this, and there will still be people who aren't going to get it. Let me remind you of
what I was once told by my teacher, "I am you, and you are me. I am him, and he is me." We
are all but one person living within many other people. We all are different alone, but
together, as one, we are the same. We become equal, no matter the gender.

Now that the U.S. government is officially back in business and a deal has been struck
to raise the debt limit, some of us can catch up on compelling news of the past few
weeks that somehow got eclipsed by political squabbling and the debt ceiling debacle.

Knowledge@Wharton High School was especially taken with a teenager in the spotlight:
16-year-old Malala Yousafzai. Maybe you caught her appearance on Jon Stewarts The
Daily Show, an interview that quickly went viral when Yousafzai, a Pakistani advocate
for womens rights, told Stewart how she reacted when she learned that the Taliban, an
Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan, wanted her dead.
Here was Yousafzais response: I used to think that the Talib would come, and he
would just kill me. But then I said, If he comes, what would you do, Malala? Then I
would reply to myself, Malala, just take a shoe and hit him. But then I said, If you hit a
Talib with your shoe, then there would be no difference between you and the Talib. You
must not treat others with cruelty. You must fight others but through peace and
through dialogue and through education. Then I said I will tell him how important
education is and that I even want education for your children as well. And I will tell him,
Thats what I want to tell you. Now do what you want.
2013 Nobel Peace Prize
These views, and her personal mission to speak out for the rights and education of
young women, are why Yousafzai who was shot in the head by a Talib fighter when
she was 14 became the youngest nominee for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. On
October 11, Yousafzai learned that she did not win the Prize. Even so, the teenager is
destined for great things, and is the embodiment of that for which she advocates: the
empowerment of women around the world.
Yousafzais time in the headlines this past week shed even greater light on a global
movement that celebrates the advancement of girls. In December 2011, the United
Nations officially declared October 11 the International Day of the Girl in response to
worldwide gender inequality. Comprising 8.5% of the global population, there are 583.9
million girls between the ages of 10 and 19, a number that is expected to grow by more
than 23 million in the next 15 years. As one of the fastest growing segments of the
population in developing countries, girls are catalysts for social change. The Day of the
Girl presents girls with the opportunity to mobilize their efforts and promote human
rights for young women.
The ability of girls to attain leadership positions in developing countries is limited by
insufficient identification mechanisms. Many governments lack the resources to
accurately issue birth certificates and national identity cards. If a girl does not have
proof of her identity, she is unable to attend school, get a job, purchase land, start her
own business or vote. Her voice in society is rendered useless as a result of
bureaucratic inefficiencies. The U.S. has expanded its foreign policy initiatives to
support programs that assist developing countries in improving their national registration
systems with the hope of increasing the visibility of girls in demographic statistics.

Girl Up is an innovative campaign of the United Nations Foundation that is dedicated to

making girls count. This organization allows American girls to become global leaders by
raising awareness and funds for United Nations programs that target the worlds
hardest to reach adolescent girls.
The Fight for Girls Rights
In preparation for the Day of the Girl, Girl Up launched the 11 Days of Action initiative.
Julie Willig, Girl Ups grassroots officer, described 11 Days of Action as a celebration of
the strength of girls in developing countries and the passion of Girl Up supporters to
make a difference. Starting on October 1 and leading up to October 11, each day
offered a new call-to-action, along with the story of an inspiring girl and the profile of a
celebrity or public figure who is active in the fight for girls rights. One of the call-toaction requests invited Girl Up supporters to collect advocacy cards from their friends
and family in support of the Girls Count Act 2013. These cards will be delivered to
Congress as government officials debate the passage of this piece of legislation that will
help implement a nationally recognized proof-of-birth system in developing countries.
High school girls around the globe organized events and fundraisers to support Girl Up.
The Miami Country Day Girl Up Club raised $8,800 to support adolescent girls in
developing countries by selling bracelets, hosting a bake-off and coordinating a fashion
show. Vilma, a teenage girl from the Western Highlands of Guatemala, joined the
Guatemalan Parliament for Childhood and Adolescence where she can propose
solutions to issues affecting the welfare of children in her country.
Katlyn Grasso, a youth champion for Girl Up and a Wharton School junior who is
starting her own organization to provide young girls with the tools to succeed, says,
I believe that empowering girls is the only way of addressing gender inequality.
Girls must be told at an early age that they have the potential to become influential
leaders before they fall victim to their own self-doubt. By educating themselves and
raising awareness about the international issues facing girls, young women are
developing the skills they need to become the next generation of leaders.
Karapatan ng babae at lalaki ay pantay lamang
Ang pagkakapantay-pantay ng mga kasarian ay nangangahulugan na ang mga
kalalakihan at kababaihan ay may parehong mga karapatan at pananagutan, at ang
lahat ay may magkakatulad na pagkakataon sa lipunan.
Ang karapatang mamuhay, kalayaan sa pagsasalita, at ang pagkakapantay-pantay
sa harap ng batas, at mga panlipunan, pangkalinangan at pangkabuhayang
karapatan, kasama ang mga karapatang makilahok sa kalinangan, karapatan sa
pagkain, karapatang makapaghanapbuhay, at karapatan sa edukasyon ay ilan
lamang sa napakaraming karapatan na dapat matamasa ng isang mamamayan,
mapababae man o lalaki.

Lahat tayo ay ginawa ng Diyos ng iba-iba ngunit pantay-pantay. Walang tao ang
nakalalamang sa isa. Hindi yaman, estado sa buhay, posisyon, kaanyuan o ang
kasarian ang basehan para sa pagtamasa ng ating mga karapatan. Magkakaiba
man, hindi ito nangangahulugan na ang isa ay mas may karapatan kumpara sa iba.
Sabi nga nila, ang karapatan ay para sa lahat. Ang ating pagkakaiba ay isa lamang
daan tungo sa pagpapa-unlad ng ating mga sarili.
Noong panahon ng ating mga ninuno, ang mga babae ay itinuturing na kapantay ng
mga lalaki. Iginagalang sila noon at nagtatamasa ng kalayaan. Nang dumating ang
mga Espanyol, inalisan nila ng karapatan ang mga kababaihan. Naging mababa ang
tingin sa kanila ng mga lalaki. Para sa bahay lamang ang kababaihan noon. Wala
silang layang makapagpahayag ng nasasaloob nila. Nang dumating ang mga
amerikano, nabago ang pagtingin sa mga babae. Sa unang pagkakataon , nabigyan
sila ng mga karapatan sibil at pulitikal. Nakapag-aaral na sila kasama ng mga lalaki,
naranasan din nilang bumoto sa unang pagkakataon at maaari rin silang mahalal.