Despite significant advancement in access to education, acceptance in leadership in some sense, and the oft-celebrated instances of breaking the proverbial glass ceiling, the first two decades of the 21st century have represented some unfortunately grave realities for womenfolk. The realities of our time are frightening for the existence of females and there must be a calculation of the inherent dangers.

Whether it is women in the workplace being compensated disproportionately lower than their male counterparts; women in politics having to endure inconsistent scrutiny compared to male politicians; pregnant women on the Asian continent working in unbearable heat, leading to increased likelihood of miscarriages; women whose professional careers come to an abrupt end after childbirth; women in the Middle East being denied the right to self-determination; or women in the Western Hemisphere whose maternal choices are dictated by jaded old men promulgating oppressive laws devoid of sensibility, the lot of females continue to be a monumental scar on the conscience of our civilisation, if we are, in fact, civilised.

What an unfortunate situation for humankind. There is no doubt that nations which entertain the most egregious policies against women will remain among the least progressive. Sadly, just a week or so after celebrating the hypocritical fanfare of International Women’s Day, right across the globe, women and girls continue to be the veteran of untold, preventable suffering and inexplicable prejudices, which damn them to such conditions as generational poverty, avoidable single parent families, sexual enslavement, human trafficking, and myriad untold abuses.

And still, it does not break there, for every upheaval or conflict within and between nations, women and children carry the greatest and most far-reaching traumas and are the most likely to be dispossessed and maimed. And it does not seem to matter much to us, whether it is a 12-year-old girl in Gaza or disabled children in Haiti being orphaned, it hardly bothers our conscience enough to find a tipping point which will inform decisive action for change. Instead, every incident is met with fleeting, unconvincing revulsion and then we are on to business as usual.

It is a painful situation to switch on the news to witness the carnage that is the existence of women and girls everywhere in the world. And even if some are able to numb their conscience to the suffering on distant shores, right here at home, children and young girls suffer everyday — engaged in commercial activities at traffic intersections, groomed for sexual relations with adults, abused at home by uncaring and ill-equipped parents, and oftentimes, even institutions responsible for the care of children are culprits in their abuse — from the church to school, ill-treatment of the weakest remains fashionable.

We have got to get to the stage at which we permanently disabuse ourselves of this proclivity to view females as adornments. The gender prejudice against females must be permanently destroyed.

This malady of how women and children are treated cannot continue. Womenfolk must remain united and resolute in their pushback against female gender inequality.

We are at a crossroads in gender equality and we must act now. It is not enough to politicise and pay lip service to the few women who gain successes in politics, the boardroom, and other spheres of life when access to these spheres can only be attained through an arduous, lopsided journey.