Men and women have been created different. We are mentally equal however not physically. There’s equality between men and women in some places but women have been marginalised at times. This is because women themselves aren’t aware and strong enough to develop inner strength, commitment, determination and self-confidence to uplift their status.

Once I was travelling to college in a crowded bus, a man offered me a seat. But I preferred to stand. Every passenger inside the bus stared at me. But I didn’t care about them. Are we weak? Aren’t we strong enough to stand for certain amount of time? These things swirled in my head. Offering a seat is these cases, is generally considered being courteous but some girls would have perceived it as a special treatment. So, every girl should understand that we would never need special treatment from anyone if we become independent and bold enough to tackle any problems that block our way.

— Rejina Giri, Balkhu, Kathmandu

Every man should respect every woman, be it his mother, wife, friend, sister or even strangers. But it doesn’t mean that women should be treated special. Nowadays, there is prevalence of reservation of seats for women in many sectors but I don’t think it is an effective way to uplift women of Nepal. It doesn’t show that women are treated on par with their male counterparts. It makes women more dependent instead of being independent. The gratification that one gets to reach a niche with our hard-work overcoming obstacles can’t be compared with anything.

Every woman should be treated equally in every field. Women have equal intelligence as well as physical power like men. It is just in minds that women are bodily weak. To see equality between men and women, we should change our attitude first.

— Safala Karki, Kathmandu

In our patriarchal society, status of women has progressed with time. Yet we can find a thin line between giving equal and special treatment to women, be it on professional or personal basis. For me, women should be treated equally, and specially too. They should be treated equally in regards to their rights and freedom because they are also as qualified and talented as the males. For the contribution they make to their workplace

and home, they should also be treated special.

— Tejaswi Pahari, Jawalakhel, Lalitpur

I would rather treat women equally than as special beings. The reason is simple. When we offer special treatment, we rob women of the essence of equality that has been guaranteed by our constitution. How can we be equal when we mete out special treatment to one gender? There was a time when, like an ancient knight, I would be seized by the sense of chivalry and would hold door, offer chair, pour drinks and wait for women to take the first sip or eat first. I would be enraged when other males of a high profile social organisation would run and swarm all over plates of momos, before female members could even leave their chairs. But as we are equal now, guaranteed by our constitution, it is all right to promote the idea of survival of the fittest among genders and race, be it for momo, bus seat or job or whatever. By catering special treatment, we run the risk of being maligned of having ancient mindset and accused of undermining equality.

— Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Gender-based discrimination is an unfortunate aspect of social injustice in developing and under developed nations. Despite several odds, women have made progress in almost every sphere of life but much work is needed to be done in remote rural areas of these nations about this discrimination.

Irrespective of this, I believe women should be treated equal. Special treatment would not push women ahead but establishing true equality in the society would. To achieve this, women empowerment is needed. The strongest force behind women empowerment is education. Every girl child and woman must be provided with equal opportunity to educate themselves in different levels. An educated woman has the right tools to empower herself and to fight for her rights, and to remove gender discrimination from the society.

An exemplary model could be the recent ‘Kanyashree Prakalpa’ — an initiative adopted by the West Bengal State Government of India. It helps girl child in rural areas with scholarships and other accessories to complete education as well as to develop technical skills to find jobs or to be self-employed.

— Saikat Kumar Basu, Canada

I prefer giving equal rights and status to women. There’s no work that women can’t do. Women are empowered nowadays. They are fully aware about their rights and compete with men in every field, but gender difference still exists in our society. The status of women has not changed in our community and women are living under men’s shadow. Due to this, women are treated special which is somewhat fair.

Some works related with strength are meant for men only while in most cases, women and men are neck to neck. So, a thin line which separates special treatment of women from equal treatment is necessary for the sake of women. And if both men and women regard each other as equal, the world would be a better place.

— Sheikh Azam, Birgunj

It depends on situations whether to treat women ‘equally’ or ‘specially’. Women are treated special in their families when it comes to receiving care and support from their family members. As far as the household works and financial issues are concerned, there needs to be an equal share to both men and women for viable outcome.

— Sanjog Karki, Palpa

Women should be treated equally, be in dialogue or work. But I give a mother a special status. All my concept of gender equality ends when I think that I cannot be a mother. So, I treat all women equally as my fellow human beings but I have a huge respect for mothers.

— Sujit De, Kolkata, India

I would prefer to treat women special because women can never be equal to men the same way men can never be equal to women. Both of them are unique, beautiful and special. The concept of equality arises through the notion of superiority and inferiority. The struggle for equality is not run by men or women but by their never satisfying ego. ‘Equally’ makes room for struggle whereas ‘specially’ makes room for harmony.

— Anonymous

Women are treated on par with men in almost every task according to their knowledge, experience and capability which is found throughout the world including Nepal. In the past, Nepali women were confined to household chores due to which their talents and skills were not recognised. They were restricted from taking decisions related to their family. Time has changed now and modern women love to perform every task including tough ones just like men. One should never underestimate them just because they

are women.

— Pratik Shrestha, Buddhanagar, Baneshwor

Difference in gender doesn’t mean men and women should be treated differently. Woman should be treated equally with their male counterparts. But how we look at women in society is traditional. So, women must be provided with equal rights and opportunities as males rather than to deprive them from rights. This includes no special treatment to woman through reservations.

— Sameer Thapa, Dhobighat, Lalitpur

Women are the important part of life and very special for every family and society. Women in their different roles bring happiness to our life through their goodness. But they don’t have much value in our society. Even though women are educated and can fight for their rights, our society has confined them in their traditional roles. But women have the ability to excel in any field like any other men. Society has to understand this. If society understands this, and respect women, they are motivated to give best of their work.

— Jasmin Khanal, Chabahil, Kathmandu

Both men and women are equally important though their roles and responsibilities differ. One can’t undermine the importance of another. They complement one another. Hence, I prefer to treat both of them equally.

Female should be given equal access to education, freedom and rights to property like males. We, female don’t want any special preference in any field as we are capable of doing anything we want to on our own. We don’t debate for special preference rather we want the society to see us in equal level as males. Being a female, I am not in favour of the reservations system for jobs. Rather, the government should ensure that every girl has access to free education till higher secondary level along with other extra-curricular activities, and has same freedom and access to every facility as her brother. And this is equity. If given equal opportunity, women can achieve anything. Recently, many female players have proven it.

— Sulochana Panta, Kavre

I strongly believe that special treatment to a girl triggers an unavoidable feeling of vulnerability in her mind. No women can feel equal until she needs an extra grooming and attention in order to complete herself. If there’s one thing one can really do to make a girl feel special, it is to treat her equally by believing in her guts, enthusiasm and knowledge.

— Sanskriti Lamsal, Koteshwor, Kathmandu

In our barbaric society where women are subjected to sexual atrocities in every sector of life, there should be exclusive ‘women only’ buses and trains. In the suburban Railway network of Kolkata, ‘ladies special’ trains ply at regular intervals so that the comparatively weaker (only in physical terms) womenfolk can travel smoothly and safely. To protect them from male chauvinism, exclusive police stations and courts can also be set up. But this is where ‘special’ treatment should end.

Since women are not intellectually inferior to men and both need to be treated on par, there cannot be any special provision for the fairer sex in any other sectors. No reservation should be encouraged in educational or service sector. No tax concession should be granted for female employees also. If sexual equality gets demanded (rightly so), then equal treatment in all respects should also be accepted, barring few exceptional cases as mentioned earlier.

— Kajal Chatterjee, India

I strongly believe that men and women should be uniformly treated. Being a male, I vividly understand the difference between treating women ‘equally’ or ‘specially’. Basically, a normal man gives special treatment to the woman he adores.

“I love those who love me” — is confined within the certain circle of people. Consequently, they don’t exhibit their morality while dealing with other women. They don’t feel the sense of responsibility of treating every woman equally. Hence, they disrespect other ladies.

On the contrary, a virtuous person is never biased in his behaviour towards treating any woman. He is vigilant by the fact that every woman has her dignity, respect and pride. Such attitudes of men aid to break the shell of injustice, tyranny and violence occurring in our country against women. Thus, every woman should be treated equally.

— Sirjan Malla, Butwal

Women are also a part of the society. Treating women equally and providing them with all the necessary opportunities make society a better place which leads to the development of the nation. Hence, non-discriminating acts need to be performed in every aspect, for the development of nation.

— Rajeshwor Kamali, Lamjung

It is said that men and women are two wheels of a chariot. However, it is painful to say that women are not treated on the basis of their extraordinary talents. But I prefer to treat them ‘equally’ rather than ‘specially’.

Men and women with the similar level of intelligence clash with each other. Yes, that’s area when both can compete with each other. Intelligence has nothing to do with the gender, it is only genetics and this is the reason how problem has started. There are areas when men and women try to overpower each other and I think it is good for both as far as it is a healthy competition. Men and women are not born to be equal, they are born to complement one another. To sum up, I am simply against any violence or inhumane act against any human, be it men or women. I am against any discrimination based on gender, there must be equal opportunity of good life for both, but competition as in race to prove yourself superior is a strict ‘no’. If one is superior they will get noticed any way.

— Saroj Wagle, Dumarwana, Bara

Women are called the weaker sex, but that hasn’t stopped them from demanding equality. I am in no way against the equality of sexes, but what really gets to me is the special treatment some ask for. They should learn to choose one — either expect fair treatment, or expect special treatment.

I prefer women to be treated equally; no matter the differences, they too can work, even excel in fields that are associated with men. I want equality because — I too want a seat on a crowded bus, I too want the justice system to listen to me, I too want to make a sandwich. Special treatment is overrated!

— Suyog Upadhaya, Skylark English School, Dhapasi, Kathmandu

Women should be treated equally because men and women are the two wheels of a cart. In our country males are given more priority in every sector, it is not fair. The government and other organisations also give preference to females in job placements. But I don’t think this is an equal treatment.

— Nita Rimal, Kapan, Kathmandu

I am a woman and I prefer women to be treated equally. Don’t treat her special and worthy one day and worthless the other. Treat her equal every day and remind her that she is also an important member of the society. Let a wife feel she is as important as her husband to run the family. Don’t isolate her life within a boundary of household chores, rather let her see the world beyond those four corners. Give your daughter the right to education and the power to make her decisions. Don’t give her a pile of photographs and a chance to select her a life partner who would give her a future. Rather give her the opportunity to decide her career and be an independent soul. Let her live the life she wants; the way her brothers do.

There can be no better feeling in the world for women if they are treated equally. Don’t plan anything big to make her feel special; treat her equal which automatically becomes special and there lies the true happiness of women.

— Sandhya Rai

Women should be treated special. They play different roles — mother, sister and wife — in our life. They are regarded as a incarnation of goddesses — Laxmi and Durga. And many people believe women are light of a house. In many rites and rituals, there is a great importance

of women.

— Mim Bahadur Pariyar

Women have always been suppressed and have been considered to be the weaker and sublime sex compared to men. Basically women are equal to men, yet they have a different function or role in home and society. What women should learn is that nobody gives them power, they need to take it through revolution. Also, empowering women and recognising their impact in the workplace by every citizen is the practical way of dealing with gender inequalities.

— Aayush Karki, Troy, Alabama, USA