The Gender Wars in Brunei (Revisited)

One Aaron Johns just recently commented on the The Gender Wars in Brunei entry which I posted a couple of weeks back. I thought his comment was very eloquent and gives a different perspective to the overall argument about the gender differences between men and women. Rather than leaving it in the comments box, I thought I will take it out and post it out here so that everyone can read this. Aaron Johns, if you please....

I apologize for this late comment. I only managed to read the readers' comments yesterday. The majority of the readers’ arguments and comments were very interesting. But I couldn't help but notice that none of the readers saw this issue of so-called gender wars as biological. Men and women are biologically different. One gender is not better than the other but it's just that - DIFFERENT.

A man's organs, senses and brain can handle certain tasks better. That's why some men are more dominant in some areas. The same also applies to women. For example, a man's vision is more focus while a woman's vision is more peripheral. On average, a man is better at navigating through a city but can’t find his own socks inside the closet.

Sociologists and psychologists used to have the upper hand in the 'Nature vs Nurture' argument - that men and women behave like they do due to social programming. However, recent findings in studies in the fields of biology and genetics show that this is not the case. Men and women are controlled by their hormones and genes. Their brains do not work in the same way. They don't think and approach problems in the same manner.

Now it is important for both genders to understand this simple but important fact. If we look at our education system (or most countries' education systems), it can be said that the system suits young girls better than young boys. Girls mature at an earlier age, can multitask better and also have a better verbal ability. It is perhaps not surprising to see them performing better overall than the boys at school.

In the UK, girls have been outperforming boys in A Levels for years. However, boys still performed better in certain subjects such as mathematics. Furthermore, although there are more female first graduates than male, there are still more men with Master's degrees and PhDs. Many people conveniently points out that this is due to gender discrimination. But this clearly cannot be the case because after all the efforts made to level the playing field; men are still dominant in some fields and women in other. There are still more female teachers than male. On the other hand, there are still more male scientists than female. Some women become teachers not because they have to or due to discrimination but simply because they choose the teaching profession.

That said, I'm not saying that there is a total abscence of sexual discrimination. It does exist in our society. However, I don't believe that this is a major factor causing the disparity.

Now back to my point. Since men and women have different abilities, we cannot expect them to perform equal roles. I believe that women should have the exact same opportunities as men. But if men can perform better as pilots, why should we put more women to fly our airplanes? Similarly, if women can teach better than men, why should we give more teaching positions to male graduates? Lawrence Summers of Harvard University was in trouble when he suggested that one of the reasons why the number of women making it to the top in science & engineering is small was genetics. He is not an uneducated misogynist. He is the President of perhaps the best university in the world (not sure whether he still holds that position, maybe Mr BR can verify this) [BR: no longer, it's now Derek Bok].

I believe a man and a woman should have equal rights and opportunities but different roles and responsibilities. This is very much the case in Islam. It is true that male relatives will get a larger share of inheritance but they also have greater responsibilities. Sure, a husband is the head of the family but he must not see this as a privilege. He is responsible to provide for his wife and children no matter what. It is not an excuse not to provide the wife with nafkah just because she is earning more than him.

If we can acknowledge that a man and a woman is inherently different, then we can understand gender issues better. It will also help us in our daily interactions at the office as well as our personal relationships. Men and women should complement each other. It is not necessary for women to do everything that men do. Of course, if a woman can be a better pilot or scientist than all her male counterparts, then she should get the job. But on average, this might not be the case.

For more on gender differences, please read Brain Sex by Anne Moir & David Jessel and Why Men Don't Listen & Women Can't Read Maps by Allan & Barbara Pease.