Celebrating Woman!
Rita Eluwade
Author of the book “Trafficked Women- a Problem of Vulnerability without Rehabilitation”
E-mail: rita.wealthygeneration@gmail.com
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In celebrating Women’s day, there is a need to place more emphasis on the female gender. The female sex is one of the two sexes made from the time of creation. The exemption of the female gender in most countries of the world can only be attributed to man-made factors; factors which have associated women with complexities which vary from country to country. The identity given to women does not totally portray their potential in most cases. To list but a few, they are seen as the weaker sex, women are often seen as those who have no values in some cultures of the world. They are easy to take advantage of in times of war and family disputes, they are seen as not having significant roles in most communities, women are often given out in marriage; this indicates they reduce the growth rate of their birth families and increases that of another family. In addition women are seen as useless because they are not strong enough to contribute to the agricultural profession of their communities, which requires heavy farming to support all.
As insolent as the above listed attributes of a woman are, there is the need to showcase the many attributes of women, attributes which ought to be saluted and admired. The female gender may be vulnerable, but they are the most resilient group of people one can ever see. What would you call a girl or a woman who gets pregnant, and carries another human being inside of them for nine months and on the day of delivery, in excruciating pain bring another human being to life? This is one aspect of women, the world needs to respect and applaud. Moreover, women in the last decade have accomplished more than they have been expected to accomplish. In some countries we have seen and heard of women who have done very well for themselves and their countries by changing how the game is played positively to accommodate all. This must first be understood from the context that female child who becomes the woman of tomorrow needs to be given opportunities and tools she needs to build a better future for herself and her community.
The word ‘opportunity’ comes to play when we talk about women and celebrating them as the female gender. Today’s young girl who is faced with child marriage or child trafficking fails to achieve a better and brighter future for herself and her generations to come if she is not adequately supported and provided with tools for a better future. There are negative impacts in relegating women to the background. Such impacts will be evident in the quality of children raised by these women who have nothing to bring to the table. Empowered women would be in a better place to support her children and those in her community. This goes to show that a woman who has the appropriate tools to support herself and her children would not necessarily see a reason to sell her daughter into sex trafficking or slavery, this is because she is empowered enough to fight traditional and cultural beliefs. Women who find themselves in these situations, still can’t be condemned for their action, because this is all they know and it is time we re-educate these women and give them the tools they need to make informed decisions concerning themselves and their children. The saying that when you educate a woman, you educate a nation ought to be rightly so, but what is seen in many communities around the world is that, women are not educated enough and they lack tools to impact their world positively.
It is quite repulsive to see how some men in position of power and authority make laws which affect women negatively. These men sometimes forget they are a product of a woman, who happens to be their mother and some of these men have at some point enjoyed the love and support from others such as aunties and sisters. Taking this further some of these men have daughters who they profess to love and care about. If this is indeed the case, why won’t such men celebrate the female gender irrespective of their age, race, colour, size, religion and abilities? In celebrating women, the male gender must rethink how women are characterized and supported in global communities. It is no longer okay for women to be relegated to the background or to be seen as inactive and unimportant. Women are becoming more assertive; they are fighting and using every opportunity given to show that the world can be a better place when women are entrusted with power and authority. There is a passion that oozes out of women who want to make a difference in their communities and their world, this must be admired and supported.
The old norms which held women bound must be discontinued, if not totally eradicated. Education and training for women should be promoted as we move forward, women may be classified as the weaker sex, but they should be given opportunities to contribute to their falling world which needs them. What they bring to the table is distinct from what their male counterpart brings because they are made differently.
This article was published on 8th March: International Women´s Day, in Global Education Magazine.
