Women deserve to be shown some respect, more so now than at any other time in history as they’ve got far greater challenges and burdens to overcome in this modern world than in past eras.

Take driving a car for instance. Women aren’t natural born foragers, it’s always been the man who hunted and provided food for his family, therefore a good sense of direction is a vital instinct, and one that prevents his family starving to death waiting for him to return home. The average caveman was an expert in this field because it was in his genetic makeup from day one of evolution. As for the average woman, I don’t think such a gene exists or ever has, which may explain why it takes a woman hours to drive to the nearest supermarket and back again with the weekly groceries – excluding traffic accidents, that is. The modern woman deserves some respect for her driving skills, because driving is not as easy as it looks!

Which reminds me of something the wife said to me one evening whilst I was watching winter rallying on the TV. After seeing the rally cars skidding off the dirt road through a forest, she exclaimed aloud: “That’s very dangerous! Why don’t they grit the road?” I just didn’t have the heart to tell her …

It’s a fact that when it comes to cooking, women can’t be beaten in the kitchen. And that might explain the saying, “Just like mom used to make!” You’ve not heard “Just like dad used to make!” have you? Yes when it comes to the basics of life, it’s the woman who deserves respect. Of course, we men have had to become self-sufficient in some areas of daily living out of pure necessity – like darning our own socks. C’mon guys, admit it, when was the last time you went to a clothing store and bought new socks, or underpants for that matter? The old joke about socks are ready for the wash when you throw them up against a wall and they stick, just isn’t true – they fall apart with age first!

Women make better nurses than their male counterparts. What self-respecting man would allow a male nurse to give him a bed bath in hospital? Where’s the pleasure in that? Oh alright, there’s some of you out there reading this that would find it pleasurable, fair enough …

Women can turn an ugly duckling into a magnificent swan with just a touch of makeup and hair styling. And it usually takes only a few hours to complete this transformation. Show me one guy who spends hours in front of mirror to make himself look presentable before venturing out? And besides, it’s only fair that the man should patiently wait for his goddess, right guys? Yes, only a woman can make a man wait for anything, so they have my respect for that also.

From a personal point of view, I think that older women deserve the most respect as they find ageing such an indignity. I think most older women carry age well, and don’t need Botox or nip-tucks as a good diet and lots of exercise should suffice. Most men don’t give two-hoots about ageing, and would never dream of paying out for cosmetic surgery, mainly because they don’t wish to end up looking like a corpse high on heroin. But that’s a woman’s prerogative.

Looking after children is what women were born to do, and may I say they do it far better than men. The male of the species just isn’t genetically programmed correctly to face such a daunting task as rearing children, especially if he’s left alone to do the job. Whereas a woman will feed her young at set times during the day, and generally at a table, a father will gladly announce meals times the moment the pizza delivery guy shows up, and will happily allow meals in front of the TV set. And just to show how contented he is, a father will after eating his share of the pizza, let go a loud burp of satisfaction which the kids will duly mimic. Then it’s time to pass around the beer.

I unashamedly say that I for one will forever show my respect to women, and I thank God for creating such a perfect being. And to all the guys out there, you should do the same. Unless that is, you really do enjoy living alone….