The United States has been long maligned for its culture. In other countries Americans are often portrayed or thought of as boorish, loud, ignorant louts. Other countries shake their heads in disgust at the mindless consumerism, media violence, tasteless sexuality or status-measuring. With the global reach of U.S. companies, media and money, many countries worry that parts of their culture will be submerged under a tidal wave of American movies and television.

Understandably, many people want to keep the familiar and traditional cultures they grew up with. Yet I can think of one particular aspect of American culture that not only should be "exported," but needs to be: gender equality.

I can already see the legions of people lining up to protest that there is no such thing as gender equality in the United States, or for that matter, many other "modernized" countries. What about the gender wage gap? Why are politicians and CEOs primarily male?

I realize these things still exist. But I think it's fair to say that even though it wasn't until 1920 that the 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote, they've had a pretty good track record since. I certainly have no problem with considering someone of the opposite gender my equal. However, as I look at Third World countries, the values of gender equality become harder and harder to find. Many societies do not practice gender equality, and women face a much more restricted life than men do.

Some countries face a real problem due to the feeling among the population that having a son is much more preferable than having a daughter. For example, in India and China, many mothers have chosen abortion rather than giving birth to a female child. While I support giving women access to abortion clinics, there is something unsavory about the practice of intentionally aborting a fetus simply because of gender.

Another practice that seems particularly heinous is female genital mutilation. The practice involves cutting off part of or the entire clitoris and frequently results in health complications down the road. The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million females are at risk of undergoing this procedure every year and between 100 and 140 million females alive today have undergone the procedure. This particular issue has been well-publicized and has been the subject of an extensive education and prevention campaign in those countries where it is common.

There are plenty of other customs and traditions that are offensive toward women. In many countries, men get preferred treatment in terms of who receives an education. In conservative Islamic cultures, many women must wear the burqa or veil to conceal them from the outside world.

The counterargument offered to criticism of a particular culture's treatment of women usually involves a claim to sovereignty over the internal affairs and lives of the people who live within it. Others argue that we should fix our own gender problems over here before trying to change other people's beliefs or practices.

Well, I don't buy these arguments. Regarding the argument to fix our own problems, I believe that gender equality is fairly entrenched in the United States' culture. In general, there are relatively few barriers to what women can attempt to do. While I agree that improvement is still needed, the argument simply tries to divert and obfuscate the actual discussion that is going on about promoting women's rights in other societies.

The sovereignty argument also falls flat in my eyes. When there is a pressing need for change in how women are treated and viewed in some cultures, women's rights take precedence over sovereign control of a country's affairs. In an increasingly smaller world, these issues must be addressed wherever they arise.

A culture can be objectively evaluated as good or bad in helping to improve the lives of the people who follow it. One of the positive points of the culture in the United States and many other developed countries is the belief in women's rights. While some may have religious, cultural or some other objection to women's rights, you can't argue with the better society that results from a more equal distribution of gender power.

I'm not suggesting using sanctions or public denunciations to threaten countries into action on this. It would be a far better idea to work through existing nonprofit organizations and expand the work that is already ongoing to fight these various gender problems. Taking a high-handed or brute force approach would only make the problem worse.

Women all over the globe deserve the chance to have the same freedoms they have here in the United States. Too many women still live in cultures that restrict and dictate when, where and how they have to live their lives. As one of the more fortunate countries on this planet, the United States has a humanitarian duty to help improve the lives of those in other countries who are less fortunate. By spreading the doctrine of gender equality and women's rights, this is one way we can work to make the world a better place.

Andrew Wagner ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in computer science and political science.