173. The sense of being orphaned that affects many children and young people today is much deeper that we think. Nowadays we acknowledge as legitimate and indeed desirable that women wish to study, work, develop their skills and have personal goals. At the same time, we cannot ignore the need that children have for a mother's presence, especially in the first months of life. Indeed, "the woman stands before the man as a mother, the subject of the new human life that is conceived and develops in her, and from her is born into the world".190 The weakening of this maternal presence with its feminine qualities poses a grave risk to our world. I certainly value feminism, but one that does not demand uniformity or negate motherhood. For the grandeur of women includes all the rights derived from their inalienable human dignity but also from her feminine genius, which is essential to society. Their specifically feminine abilities - motherhood in particular - also grant duties, because womanhood also entails a specific mission in this world, a mission that society needs to protect and preserve for the good of all.191
190 John Paul II, Catechesis (12 March 1980), 2: Insegnamenti III/1 (1980), 542.
191 Cf. Id., Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem (15 August 1988), 30-31: AAS 80 (1988), 1726-1729.
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