Sexism isn't hard to find

Google "women should..." and you will certainly encounter a plethora of options that demonstrate that the fight for gender equality is far from over.

The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women last week launched an advertising campaign to expose the negative stereotypes that still persist about women, and their "proper" role in society.

The campaign uses the Google search engine's auto-complete function to show what many people around the world search for.

The top four results were that women should "stay at home", "be slaves", "be in the kitchen" and "not speak in church".

A search conducted by The Times yesterday resulted in "not vote", "cover their heads", "not speak in church" and "not wear pants".

The senior programmes adviser for Sonke Gender Justice, Mbuyiselo Botha, said though a lot had been achieved in terms of women's rights, sexism was still prevalent.

"These sentiments reflect how difficult a task the development and emancipation of women truly is in society in modern times," she said.

Botha added that stereotypes such as those revealed in the campaign stemmed from values and traditions taught to children from a young age. "We need to go back and take a closer look at how children are raised and their socialisation.

"The teaching of a new level of consciousness at social institutions can shift this kind of thinking," Botha said.

The advertising drive inspired the UN Human Rights Office's Free and Equal campaign to see what would happen if one replaced the word "women" with "gays".

The Times found the top four auto complete responses to be: "not adopt", "be shot", "not have equal rights" and, far more mercifully, "be allowed to marry".

Gender activist Mapaseka Steve Letsike said the results illustrated just how easily public opinion could fall prey to prejudice - and why homophobia and sexism should not be ignored.

"The results are a direct indication of what people grow up believing.

''Issues concerning gays and lesbians are not spoken of enough in society," said Letsike.

"This lack of knowledge has a major impact on society because it leads to stereotyping, labelling and gender-based violence, among others."

According to UN Women, the searches confirmed the "urgent need to continue making the case for empowerment and equality" around the world.