All individuals are equal, and as equal everybody has the same rights. Or, at least, that is how it should be. In the past, people have fought and died to have their rights recognised and, at present, we are still fighting. Gender gaps, racism, homophobia, our world is filled with people who still believe that who is different, or weaker cannot have the same rights as other individuals.

As we hear everyday in the news, people die because of the different colour of their skin, or protest against the working system that doesn’t provide women with the same rights that nen have. That’s because gender inequalities in the field of work are still a serious matter in the 21St century. Women still have issues in being underpaid, or have problems in being employed because they are still seen as “inferior” to men. That’s because, even if men and women have changed over time, they have adapted themselves to live in a world where the strongest win and gain power over the poorest and the weakest. This issue was amplified when women became the victims of this discrepancy, which never ceased to widen. At present, women still find it hard to fight for their role in modern society and have themselves recognised as equals to men. Let us not forget the struggle in being a woman who comes from a different country. These problems are the same one that people tried to get rid of through the centuries. Somehow, they succeeded, because humans are not indifferent to these issues and, little by little, the gap is starting to narrow and now women can work and vote. But the prejudices are still there.

Not only women, but whoever is “different” has their rights denied: people with a different cultural background or religion are still not welcome when they migrate to other countries. People who are attracted to people of the same gender are still despised, even if in the past we fought for gay rights, and homeless people are still treated like scum. In the worst cases, even the right to life, the most important of all, has been denied because of all those prejudices.

Luckily, we are learning. Not as quickly as we would like, but we are learning to overcome the odds and defend what is far from our reality. We are beginning to build a society where everyone can be recognised as a human being, or at least we are trying to. We try to go beyond prejudices and not to fear what and who doesn’t conform to our ideal of a “human being”. This is due also to technological progress that allows even really young people to acknowledge the problems in our society. But what do young people think?

Nowadays , young people’s needs are different from the past. These changes lead teenagers and young adults to have a different perception of the world they live in. From a young age, teens have the possibility to get to know quickly what happens world-wide, through the internet and cellphones. This does not, however, mean that everyone is interested in these problems. The gender gap for example, is a matter that nowadays has received countless criticisms, even from young people. As a matter of fact, in the present time, many teenagers and young adults have acknowledged this gap, but haven’t yet raised their voices or tried to change this situation for the better.

The only way to make people understand how important equality is, is to show them how better our society can be with a greater number of women in charge of public and political matters, and a greater diversity among people. Youngsters need to open their eyes to the fact that a society mainly led by men has a lot of leaks that could be avoided with more women in control, and that people would be happier if they could express their love freely, regardless of their sexuality. That is not an accusation against our government. However, a society where many people live, needs to be composed by different people.

That’s because we, as people, are equal, and we are aware of it and even young people have enough information about the world to make the difference. Yet, they lack the motivation and the awareness of what they should fight for.

However, we, as a society, are not ignoring the problem anymore, even if progress is not fast, we know that is happening. It might not be possible to get rid of all the disparities and the violations of rights, but there’s a little hope. And while there’s hope, our world is bound to get better.