One of the biggest tragedies of mankind through out all of history is all of the female geniuses who were never allowed to reach their potential and contribute their gifts to the world. Think of all the female "Mozarts" or "Einsteins" who could have been, but never were.

Edit: To clarify my post, the tragedy I speak of is the one of loss both men and women deal with because women were not allowed to contribute to society using their minds over the centuries. Just think about what might have come of the world had women been considered equal and allowed to learn and work as men were expected too.