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Active Social Advancement of Women

IZUMOZAKI, Fumina (Nagaoka National College of Technology)

Imagine this…..

A sixteen year old girl is on a school bus on her way home from school. Suddenly, gunmen stop the bus and ask for her by name. A gunman then tries to kill her by shooting her in the head and neck. Does this story sound familiar to you? It is the true story of Malala Yousafzai. Why was this girl attacked? What angered these men? Malala's crime was her fight for the right for girls to receive an education in her hometown. According to her speech at the United Nations, it is difficult for girls to get an education　in developing countries because of discrimination based on caste, creed, and religion.

In Japan, there was also an old belief in the superiority of men over women. I feel that this belief discriminated against Japanese women. Due to this old idea, women were expected to take care of the family and do all the housework too. However, our society has been changing; the status of women is now improving. Today I would like to share with you some examples of this change in my school, in my family and in the world.

We go to Kosen and because we study mostly about technology, there used to be few girls in our school. Therefore there used to be fewer women's' bathrooms. However, you should come and visit our school now, because we have the same number of girls' bathroom as boys', and also with washlets! Our girls can enjoy their school life without feeling that Kosen is a school only for boys. Moreover, about 35% of my classmates are girls. Many of us are interested in being engineers in the future. Thus, we, as women, are able to learn on the same level as boys in our school.

This April, I started looking for a career for after graduation. I wanted to work for a chemical company. There are many engineering companies in Japan. Unfortunately, some of them didn't accept women. Some companies feel that their jobs are too hard for women. I felt that it was a little difficult for women to get job offers. But, the number of women in science courses is increasing, and job opportunities as well. Women can do research and development in laboratories, however, they are still limited from doing some kinds of jobs. Therefore women can contribute to companies and society, but not as equally as men yet.

I recently had a chance to talk to a female teacher. She gave birth last year, and just came back to school this April, after taking maternity leave. She said “Generally speaking, it is difficult for women to take maternity leave, but some mothers can get 3 months maternity leave. Here at Kosen, we can take 4 months of maternity leave.” She seemed really happy because she could take enough time-off to spend with her baby, and is very satisfied with her working conditions at Kosen.

In Japan, there are some social systems to economically assist single-mother families. My mom is running a small business by herself in Niigata, and she is taking care of me without my dad's help. Therefore, it is very difficult for my mom to pay for all my education expenses. However, a fatherless family can get some support such as a scholarship or a tuition waver. And also single-mother families have an advantage over single-father families in that we can get support for paying medical expenses. These systems support my family a lot.

In conclusion, many systems to support women have been introduced recently in Japan. It means the recognition of women in our society has changed. However, it is still difficult for women to　live alone and get an education in the world. Malala said “We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave, to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.” I believe Malala. I suppose that is the best solution that we, women, can make for ourselves. I really hope that more and more women will advance in the world. There is one more thing that everyone can do to promote the active social advancement of women. And that is… to listen carefully to women. And today, I would like to thank you for listening carefully to me.