I dream that one day women will be . . .

It’s women’s suffrage week. For those of you who only read the sports section, it’s 125 years since women were allowed to officially moan about politicians because they were finally allowed to vote.

But in sport, the right to be seen as an equal has come a little slower and I think I have discovered the reason: clothing.

I had thought the fact some people got all hot under the rugby jersey over female athletes striving to better their lot was due to a lack of respect.

I kept getting put off the scent by little things such as men complaining about women analysts daring to commentate on men’s sport when they’d only represented their country as women.

But maybe the real reason dates back a few decades, an era many women refer to as ‘‘that bloody annoying and often infuriating time’’. We are still in that time by the way but we don’t have to chain ourselves to Parliament as often to get listened to, unless you’re in the Greens.

The UK begrudgingly got its suffrage act together 100 years ago. Up until then, the male MPs came up with a variety of reasons why this was a bad idea based on bollocks and Brylcreem. One of the reasons was women would wear big hats in Parliament and men would not be able to see over them. They would take over the world one, huge hat at a time, like a better-dressed version of the Freemasons.

Back then women were seen as subversive and in some cases still are. A lot has changed and men and women are far more open-minded over what great things can be achieved when the sexes get together in a nonbiblical sense. But little things are picked on and in sport that’s often around what women wear and how they look.

There’s either too much of it, not enough of it or it’s not the right dress code.

Male athletes don’t get the same attention. A new footy strip is released and it’s either liked or hated. We all get over it and watch the game.

But an athlete such as Serena Williams will cop it like a chook even if she isn’t arguing with an umpire.

The French Open President said her black catsuit would not be welcomed back and a few male players agreed. It’s well past time people stopped making a female athlete’s looks the first topic of discussion.

Surely as long as no bits fall out, it’s OK? There was a very real danger of that happening to men in the ‘70s with their micro shorts but the world managed not to panic. No one is having a meltdown over long hipster beards although I would love a reporter to ask Sam Whitelock to ‘‘give us a twirl’’ to show off his fab facial fur during his next interview.

As I straighten my oversized hat I dream of the day when what a woman does in the sports arena is cheered and debated just like the men.

The rules of engagement are still not always the same for the sexes. Before you judge the playing surface to be even, ask a top female athlete about her career and then listen.

Sort this out and we could focus on what’s important such as listening to the all women commentary team discuss a quick highlights package of the All Blacks game before moving on to the main event, the Black Ferns taking on America.