Then the LORD God said, “it is not good that MAN should be alone; I
will make him a helper fit for him”….Then the MAN said, “this at last is bone
of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called WOMAN, because she was
taken out of MAN.”
And so it begins- the superiority complex of the male
gender, powered by religion, reinforced by the traditions of men and enshrined
as a norm of life. A man’s world indeed.
I am fairly certain that different religions have something
similar to the above quotation gotten from the bible, elevating the male gender
and purporting the opposite sex as a property named and owned by man. Imagine
the plight of a household helper and picture the plight of women in men’s
world.
Over the years, men have hidden behind the cloak of religion
and tradition to commit crimes against women, making laws and shaping the
existence of their property. How our society has deliberately chosen to be
slaves to their own traditions and religion is baffling. How men chose to throw
away the gift of freewill, perception and good judgment which religion itself
espouses is again bewildering.
I recall a post from a friend on Facebook to mark her
brother’s birthday;
“Once upon a time .... A bouncing baby boy (BBB) was
born to the family of (name withheld). He brought Joy to this family and registered his Mum's presence into this
family as demanded by the Igbo culture. Today that BBB has grown into a Man
still bringing Joy to his Family. To this I say a Happy Birthday to (Name
withheld)”….
This personifies the world I live in, where the worth of a
woman is cheapened by primitive traditional practices and religious bias.
And it only gets worse; a woman adopts her husband’s name at
marriage, family recognition is built on male dominance. How about the woman
breadwinner in the home, whose name is never remembered because her children
must bear their father’s name or the name of their dead grandfathers? What of
the single mother who still loses her name and has no lineage? And so women have no right to inheritance
because what they can achieve is dictated by the male gender that chooses to
keep her eternally reliant on them. Explains why the rapist feels so powerful
because the women have no right to deny him. No wander he beats his wife
because he feels she belongs to him (“She is my WIFE!” they say). And the next
male child is born into the society, greeted by cheers and adulation and
instantly inherits a position of superiority over the opposite sex without any
input from him.
“The
problem is that mindset of superiority, that possessive mentality of the male
gender, fueled by misguided interpretation and application of cultures and
religious tenets.”
If our communities must be emancipated from mental slavery, value reorientation is key. To redress gender imbalance in our societies, more women must occupy positions of power and be part of the decision makers. For starters, the government must weigh in heavily on this and provide a gender responsive society to even the playing field. And women from all climes must pick up the mantle and demand doggedly for women’s rights… Happy International Women’s Day! #Makeithappen
