Yes, I believe that men and women are equal in value, but I don’t believe equal means they are the same. I believe in chivalry. I believe in a man taking the lead. I believe in a man opening car doors, offering his jacket, and paying for dinner.

Many men are shocked to hear this and quite confused. But these men equate equality with sameness. Equality means we are the equal in value; equality means we should have the same opportunities as men—such as to own land, vote, hold CEO and high-power positions, and work or stay-home if we want. However, equality in my view is not sameness. Men can bench press more weight than women and have a higher metabolism; women are more nurturing and have bodies which hold on to fat more.

Men and women are different. Equal, but different. One difference I relish on is a man’s ability to be the provider and to pay for a date and treat me like a princess. I, in return, will nurture him and treat him like a king.

In my opinion, a woman shouldn’t pay for a date just because of gender equality. She should pay for herself because it’s fair. Regardless of gender, if two people go on a date, generally whoever asked the other person out would pay. If not, one of the people could offer to pay, and the other person could pay next time, or the bills could be separate or split. There are lots of ways to fairly pay for a meal, that don’t have anything to do with gender. Gender is irrelevant here.

Having separate bills doesn’t imply that the people are any less close. It’s polite to expect to pay for yourself, regardless of gender. Likewise, regardless of if you’re on a date or not, you can still offer to pay for another person, or just pay for yourself. Expecting only men to pay on dates is idiotic, especially since we live in a modern society and not in the stone ages. Expecting only women to pay is equally idiotic. Also, not all dates will have both man and a woman. To say that someone of a specific gender should pay for a date just because of gender equality is strange. People should pay for a date because it’s nice, or because the other person payed last time. Don’t factor gender into this.

Versuasion Pakistan – Fareeha Robert