Belly,
You ask if women are equal, not here let alone India where your example of female infanticide came from.

I understand your horror at the figures relating to India but you should understand why I agreed with Jewely when she said we need to do more here first.

Just a couple of years ago i wrote to the NSW Minister for Health, Yes a Labor Minister, female too, asking why no one had ever been charged with any offence relating to FGM of little girls. Note it is against the law and evidence is available through our hospitals.

The reply I got was "there are cultural considerations"

Hell, they are cutting pieces of flesh off little girls, without even a local anesthetic, and we are concerned about their culture! Done on a kitchen table.

No wonder some end up in hospital with shock, bleeding and infection.

I put it to you that it is only the professional expertise of our medical people that have prevented deaths so far. That may not last forever.

My concern now is that because it has been going on for so long without action, that the pro FGM advocates will start to argue that, as we do not really object, FGM should be decriminalised.

However as we now have a new state government I will try again and see if I can get some action on this barbaric practice.

Pity no one, or few, seems interested.

Banjo much to like about you, your torment at this pleases me.
No way around this, take a side step to explain me to you.
I have some fine documents praising me for my life of activism.
Regard most as just words.
But one stands out it tells my members I am the best union delegate the giver ever knew.
But that I have weird views.
Yes it is true but not me,, some passengers in my party's bus have weird views.
They infest the ALP fear of the GREENS gives them air.
I can tell you, about one in five ALP ministers post Bob Carr in NSW are of any use.
This horrible thing we speak of is propped up by gutlessness fear of cultural problems we who claim to offer a better life ABANDON these females.
I under stand the act, also girls wed here before teen age years I know honor killings will take place here too.
We act without Morals in letting it take place.
PC is a method of the minority controlling the majority, if given the chance to vote on this we would see far less than ten percent agree with it.
We unhappily are never going to get that chance.

"ISMise:”I know full well that a few women, in the West, ran factories during the war but that doesn't alter the fact that no woman can ever equal a man for the amount produced during a shift on lathes, milling machines or large drills. They are just not built for it.”

Yeah but SOME are and SOME men arn’t either. I’ve found those heavy jobs you build up too and get stronger and faster after a little time no matter the gender"

It's got nothing to do with strength, operating these types of machines requires skill, that's all.
The reason that a woman whose skill equals, or even slightly exceeds, that of a man on the same machine will never produce the same amount of work in a given time, is that the man can work continuously through a shift without any minor toilet breaks, because he can urinate easily into the suds (Coolant) tray whereas the woman can't.
It's called 'Penis Advantage'.

I hereby now apologise for being flippant.

Is Mise,

You have just confirmed my suspicions that modern industrial society comprehensively demeans human potential.

While I understand you were being flippant, if that is your measure of male superiority, one wonders what the future holds for such an intelligent species.

Not sure if is mise is being flippant or foolish, but do not judge men on those posts.
I could fill the page with story of bad behavior of bothy sex's.
Right now have a little Princess inflicted on me.
Fairly good looking but in control, her man is a sex slave and nothing more her manners never existed.
BUT that is true of both sex's so lets not divide.
As a construction official I saw women drive the biggest plant and do it well.
Do we need to ignore the fact women are dieing/being killed/ raped every day.
Who wants to express unhappiness about young Egyptian women, taken it to custody for being part of demonstrations for democracy.
Have tests conducted to see if the are virgins?
We should not let a marginal person marginalize a conversation about how women in half the world are treated.

Yes Belly, “Do we truly care about the dreadful life some women lead is equality just a word”

“Equality” is just a word

“Equality” is a deceptive word because do-gooders have been using it to give ordinary folk a guilt trip over every thing and any thing

As for the plight of women in India – what do you expect me to do about it?

Maybe I should support a trade embargo against Indian goods ?

I know I want a telephone embargo against those annoying Indian telemarketers immediately.

I do not control the rest of the world… some folk might be tempted to ask me but their voice will be drowned out by those who have never heard of me

Nothing anyone can do will turn the bad into the good

We are all genetically unique which means we all start from a state of inequality

Like a famous politician once said

"When all the objectives of government include the achievement of equality - other than equality before the law - that government poses a threat to liberty."

So the pursuit of “equality” is a complete load of bunkum – it is the pursuit of the chronically depressed and depressing, attempting to impose the source of their malady on others.

My resolve is simple

Be a good person, mix with similar and leave the teeming masses to sort out their feeble existence the they can because for one sure thing

Nothing you or I can say or do will change them or protect them from their fate or themselves.