Today, in the 21st Century, in a pluralistic world, the different societies on planet Earth bring together what is traditional and what is not. Capitalism considers the society as a whole. In view of this, this century’s diseases are loneliness and individualism. New technologies do not take into account the daily life of human beings. And if women continue to be treated like objects, what is civilisation?

In our societies, women play an original role, and a woman should not be considered a man. They should be respected, with their political, social and economic difference.

Through the history of the world, women of all ages have assumed their role and today, we tend to forget the progress made, as machismo remains high. However, awareness-raising is growing and women have proved their capacities in political commitments, despite numerous difficulties. Shouldn’t it be natural and possible to respect everyone’s rights, for every human being?

Because they are fully-fledged human beings, shouldn’t women have the same rights?

“Workers of the world, unite!” said Karl Marx, aware of the fact that women and children were already part and parcel of workers’ history, agriculture, household chores, etc., thus contributing to family life and to the economic life of their societies. So why are we still witnessing unequal pay and many other things? Why are women still submitted to a work similar to that of men, without equal pay? All human beings are workers, regardless of the manual or intellectual work they do.

Until today, and since the beginning of history, the struggle for a better position, denied so far, has been justified. Women are not things but fully-fledged beings. And, just like any other person, they should be able to politically, socially and culturally exist through their singularity, instead of being only considered for their usefulness. Women know how to combine work, household, emotions… Despite all this progress, why should they fight, just for being a woman?

There is still a long way to go. We need to stop feeling indifferent and to reach a common awareness of the role to be played in those political movements, in search of the common good and the best way to move forward. Social, political and economic struggles should continue to foster women’s empowerment. They should enable women to hold their heads high and to be part of this struggle. Within a dynamic history, this world should be built by men and women who do not give up and actively fight for a greater respect for human dignity.

Through our mission as Movement of Christian Workers, we shall recall Pope Francis’ speech during a mass celebrated in the St. Martha’s Chapel in Rome. In a courageous speech advocating for equality between men and women, he said that women do not only exist to accomplish household chores. Pope Francis recalled that men and

women’s destiny is to form one single flesh, clearly supporting gender equality. After a long conversation, Pope Francis concluded that women’s role is to create harmony, and without women there would be no harmony in this world.

We remain committed in our mission as a movement of formation and of the Church, together with those female workers involved in this struggle for justice, every second of their lives.

WORLD MOVEMENT OF CHRISTIAN WORKERS - WMCW