WOMEN'S RIGHTS

WHY EMACIPATION OF WOMEN?

By Enie Ndoh Cecile

I do hereby express my profound gratitude for this occasion that has offered this privileged opportunity to put this massage across to women around the globe. You know for millions of years back, women have been referred to as the weaker sex, with fowl brains. The men have always dominated them, taking the laws into their hands to treat women the way deem fit. Some feel the woman’s place is in the kitchen, to bare children, care for the house, husband and kids. Others by their culture consider that their sole duty is to be a ‘breadwinner’ by providing feeding money and some other financial fulfillments. Finally, it is the woman who caters for her children, usually single-handed, especially when they are still young. While the man if not at his job side should be drinking with friends or enjoying himself one way or the other, only God knows how.

Most men feel women are naïve, so therefore know nothing and cannot talk anything reasonable or substantial; popularly known as “women’s talk”. With this notion they neither seek nor adhere to their advice. To others, women cannot stand certain jobs. They forget completely that there are some things a woman can do which some men would not dare attempt. In fact, to some men with polygamous culture, women are things you collect and pile as and exhibition of their wealth. They therefore have taken upon themselves with the natural phenomenon that there are more females than males, so they marry these women to show signs of machismos and wealth. These women are in turn supposed to worship this man as their king.

Today women are striving with the zeal to prove their men wrong with their favorite saying “WHAT A MAN CAN DO, A WOMAN CAN DO EVEN BETTER”. Women of this generation are fighting to prove their men wrong and the statement right. Now women maintain executive and powerful positions as – Presidents, Pilots, Astronauts, Director Generals, Ambassadors, Prime Ministers, Parliamentarians, Vice-Chancellors and other top executive and challenging jobs. Some of these women have proven to hold these key positions even better than most men could.

I presume this is due to the natural love and prowess God had given them, to use to care and raise their children and run their homestead effectively. Women as mothers from generation to generation have discovered it can be used to build a nation and in effect a more peaceful and united world.

The African woman should also keep up to this challenge of women liberation and violence, so that it can be wiped out. To be able to make it and prove to some of our men folk who are still unenlightened about the capabilities of a woman.

To achieve this goal, we have to strive and thrive for higher heights in education and what ever resourceful activities we engage in. We must study whatever we prefer. Our efforts should not take into consideration some of the negative thoughts, expressions or utterances about educated and affluent women in the society.

The Rural women in the village should be enlightened on how to keep themselves from having too many children with yearly intervals, for them to stay healthy and live longer to see these children grow. As such they should be educated on family planning and their women’s rights. They should be exposed and provided with easier ways to carry out their duties, that is, labor saving devices should be introduced for grinding, tilling and toiling. Portable water supply should also be provided in our rural communities since women and children domestic chores involve providing water for home use. In most suburbs setting they travel distances to fetch water and firewood.

As concern violence on women in which some men have taken upon themselves to beat women should stop. I uphold women are exactly like the men, but for the difference in our anatomy. So why can’t we have 50/50 in our relationships for us to respect the men and they in turn show us some respect rather than treating us like one of their children or slaves. We all as human beings are liable to commit offences, make errors at one point or the other, so why most a woman be beaten because she offended her husband. Is it also logical for her to beat her spouse if he also does something mean? Why not quietly call her attention to it and as a good woman she will surely apologies and take corrections. Women in general and the African woman in particular should strive to be career women, to fight to be liberated and put a stop to violence. They should aim to achieve prosperity in life. As Ruth Rose puts it ‘the purpose of a prospering woman is to show how natural it is to prosper. Prosperity is experiencing a balance in life. It is attaining what we want on mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and financial levels. Prosperity is the natural result of opening our minds, willing to act on our ideas from this perspective, to prosper have nothing to do with being either male or female’.

What puzzles me most is this issue of a woman who gives birth to only female children or have more females than males, which are usually considered a bad omen or curse or taboo especially among most African cultures that belief in male inheritance. I do not even know what word or expression to use, but such instances usually leaves some of the men in a melancholic mood as if it was the woman’s fault. There are cases whereby woman and children have been neglected or sent packing after lots of insults from the man.

Funny enough, the truth and facts in child bearing shows that a man’s genetic composition entails both the X and Y chromosomes, meant for producing both the male and female sexes. As such, if he releases biologically the X chromosome, which meets with the woman’s fertile egg, the result would be the birth of the female child. In the case of releasing the Y chromosome, the result would be the birth of the male child.

Nevertheless, these female children at times are more advantageous when it comes to assisting their parents, since that’s what parents hope for. I do plead with women, not to even wish to be a man before engaging in any activities. Even if it is wrestling, boxing or military training, sky diving whichever you are interested in, dangerous or not if you have the guts you just go ahead and do it. To make these men reason and be aware that, the women are no longer that part of which God took from them, but full flesh human beings like them.

Women of Africa, please come out of your shells, wake up and fight for your rights, like your counterparts in the other part of the globe. Be certain, due to your natural tenderness of love and peace, you are sure to be greater and better leaders in future.

As food for thought I leave you to digest this message from Gold Touch International.

BE TOUGH WOMAN

Be tough woman

Be brave.

Go out fearlessly and do the things

that your heart desires to do

You will be counted in the world

don’t allow fear to paralyze you.

Stand up and face the challenges

of life squarely in the face,

however great it may be.

Forge ahead and conquer

march on to victory that awaits you

No one will toss victory that awaits you

you have to win yourself

Carve out a place for yourself in the sun woman.

Let no fear destroy that great dream of yours

don’t fear to be laughed at

don’t fear to be criticized

don’t fear to fail.

Don’t fear to be thought crazy when you dare

to do those things that others fear to do.

Be tough and march on
You will conquer, women

you have what it takes

to win all the victories

that your heart desires to win.
Be tough and win.