A ‘March’ for Our Women
The most priceless gift that accrues to living things is that of reproduction, it is the very essence of our continuous existence.
The feminine gender has been the most favoured as it is endowed with the capacity to nurture and bring forth life aside the Supreme Being (God). The males owe their existence to the females.
Created to please the eye and trouble the mind, fragile in appearance but having the strength of the now extinct dinosaurs, these are qualities peculiar only to the female gender.
The animals which man claims to be wiser than have a deep sense of respect for their females hence they display territoriality.
The Lion fights to protect its territory from other male lions not because it needs land for the cultivation of crops but because it values all the lionesses he has in his pride.
The month of March is notable for the numerous occasions that the world over celebrate women and mothers.
On Monday, March 8 and on Sunday March 14, Nigerians, as well as the rest of the world, celebrated the International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day respectively. A lot of religious organisations fine-tuned their messages to this effect, as well as governmental and non-governmental organisations who sent out messages celebrating our women.
Individuals were not left out as the social media space had many people displaying photographs of their mothers with nice poetic lines to celebrate them but after the jamboree the question arises, what next?
Do we all go back to the status quo?
✓ where our women are relegated to the background in political issues.
✓where our women are only to be seen and not heard in some religious settings.
✓ where our women are not allowed to inherit family properties.
✓ where preference is given to the birth of the male child in some societies.
✓ where our women are abused physically, sexually and emotionally because of their fragility.
✓ where female genital mutilation is welcomed by some cultures and the law through its seeming silence continues to abet such.
However, all hope is not lost as every day, activists are being birthed that cry out loud for the emancipation of our female folk especially the women in sub-Saharan Africa.
We desire a society where a woman will not be relegated to playing second fiddle where she has the capacity to take the lead role.
We look forward to a society where the women can hold their heads high and challenge their male counterparts in every field of endeavour.
We look forward to a society where the rights of a woman will not be deliberately trampled upon just because she is a woman.
This can only happen if “I” stand up for the women and “YOU” stand up for the women.
You and I can make the difference as we continue to march for our women!
