One of the things I cannot forgive, which the major religions have imposed upon humankind, is misogyny. The reverberations of this attitude have continued over time until the present day, as they're deeply rooted in our culture (and many other cultures) and are proving very hard to eradicate. How many potentially brilliant women scientists down the centuries have been excluded from contributing to our knowledge because they've been regarded as of inferior intelligence compared to men? Even in the fifties and sixties, my grammar school was suggesting careers in nursing, teaching, typing and so on, but never research in any of the Science disciplines, or even a University course of any sort, for its female pupils. I was lucky in that my parents always encouraged us to seek the highest education available, and didn't merely hand us a pinny and a book on baby care!
|