By Rokeya Sumi 

Writer/Reporter 

Growing up as a girl in a South Asia country, I always wanted to understand the word equality. It seemed to me to be the most confusing concept while I was trying to explore its meaning. I could not find any specific definition for equality, but I could feel this word everywhere in society. However, most people talked about discrimination rather than equality. Discrimination based on gender, discrimination between social standards, discrimination in education, discrimination in the job sector, even discrimination in my own family is a common pattern of distinction with people.   

But are discrimination and equality two sides of the same coin? Or do these two words refer to two perceptions of our society? 

During the British colonial period, people were ruled by British law and regulation without having their rights as individuals such as the freedom of speech, nationality, citizenship, right to be a part of the government, and many more. The British colonial period was not a horrible past for one or two country or colonies; it was a history which refers to the understanding of identity and boldness of asking for our own rights. 

The end of colonial culture is not a history of only revaluation of a country or independency; it was a war against discrimination between ownership and independence. It was a feeling when people understood that economic freedom is not about economic sufficiency. Economic freedom is a strong base for nationalism, humanism, and building positive relationships with each other.  

We always focus on discrimination rather than equality. Let’s look at it from a gender perspective. Gender discrimination is the most common issue in the world, especially in Asian and Arab countries. In most cases, we all ask for equality with men, but does a woman really want to be equal with a man? Or does society have a meaning of equality of their own?   

The birth of feminism is not asking to be a competitor of men. The concept of equality in feminism is only to ask for equal rights as a human without judging their gender or physical appearance. A person, whether they be a man or women, should get every kind of rights and responsibility to build a society, and that is the main idea of gender equality. A family or a society cannot be developed without men and women, but very often we put responsibility to each other as a challenge. However, we just need to play our own role.   

Another important perspective which is deeper in my heart is equal human rights.  This is also a common topic in worldwide organizations that all humans have equal rights to live a better life, to have better food, housing, health care, and job opportunities. However, most often we believe that we need to ask for our human rights from those in power. The funniest thing right now is that we are all begging for our right to live, the right to have our own country safe, the right to practice our faith, and the right to practice our humanity. But the question is if it’s right, why do I need to ask for it and from whom?  

You may ask why I put these two thoughts together. The answer is, maybe these are two different ideas from different perspectives, but the problem is the same. To have the right as a human being, we need to focus on our first and most important identity; the fact that we are all humans.  

Whoever we may be, we are human; we should have the same treatment and power to practice our own duties. Nationally, no matter who we are, we have the right to have our freedom and live in our own country without interference.  

We have the right to choose our future by our qualities and qualifications without judging our identity. Most importantly, we should have respect for each other as human beings, no matter what, all humans have the right to live, the right to access facilities for living, and the right to practice our knowledge and ideas. Then we can create a world of equality.