Downward Trodden But Upward Bound

Published on 14th March 2006

March 8 as International Women's day has been marked for almost a century (the first being March 8 1911) in honour of women, celebrate their achievements and focus attention on the continuing challenges facing the full realisation of the fullest potential of women as equal citizens with equal rights as men. It is a day to recommit everyone to the motto: women's rights are human rights.

 

It is not just a `women's day' per see even if that is how it is popularly celebrated. It is about gender awareness and democratic struggles to make the world a better place for all its inhabitants, men and women.

 

There is no denying the fact that women have made tremendous advances globally and in Africa in the past few years. There are many visible pointers in the growing numbers of women in top political positions including Ministers, members of parliament, and in the judiciary. And last year, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, of Liberia, finally broke through the ceiling by becoming the first popularly elected female head of state in Africa. That victory means that women no longer have to rely on the good will of men in order to hold or aspire to political offices.

 

The truth is that most of the women who had been Vice Presidents on this continent have largely been 'appointed' by the 'kind' male president. An unwritten convention in such patronage is to go for women 'who will not cause trouble' and who will be ‘forever grateful' to the 'appointing authority’. Mama Ellen has now put paid to that. No longer would an African woman's political ambition be limited to the second position as a kind of political accessory for Presidents and political parties seeking political correctness and looking for women's crucial votes. They should go for the top most jobs in their own right and by merit rather than as someone's widow, spouse, partner, daughter, or 'good girl.'

 

It is not just in politics that African women are making giant strides. Just look around in the other fields like economy, community, civil society groups and NGOs, education, academia and the professions.

 

These achievements are not due to magnanimity on the part of  the men who are still very much in charge of the largely patriarchal power structures in the society but the outcome of wider struggles, sometimes provoking incremental reforms and some times the result of prolonged conflicts and smashing of old prejudices and social attitudes. Women as women and as part of the democratic struggles together with men have won and continue to struggle for more victories in new frontiers. No doubt a changing consciousness and awareness is improving men's attitudes and creating men who may not be as hostile to the advancement of women as their fathers or grand fathers. But the fact that we can still point at women in top places mean that it is not yet common place.

 

There are many challenges ahead. One, in some countries where women have made giant strides in formal political institutions  like Uganda or Rwanda for instance, there is a tendency to see the progress as the 'gift' of the president thereby inculcating  a kind of political gratitude that promotes political cronyism to the detriment of the wider interests of women's struggles. In Uganda, Museveni and his NRM talk as if they own Ugandan women and the peasantry. Even in countries (like South Africa) where the gender gains are part of a wider progressive Movement and liberation agenda there is a tendency to make women to perpetually feel grateful to the party!

 

Two, as with all oppressed peoples women may be oppressed because they are women and since they are not of the same class, colour or creed, they suffer the oppression differently. Some women may become economically and politically liberated and acquire more choices at the expense of fellow women. For instance, middle class women are able to make the choices that they make because other women (nannies, house girls /house boys, etc.) subsidise their existence.

 

Three, a high number of women in public offices may be important symbolically and certainly necessary but may not translate into gender-aware policies and politics. For instance, Mrs. Ngonzi Iweala is Nigeria's Minister for Finance. Mrs. Sirleaf-Johnson has appointed another Woman as her Finance Minister but they are both committed to the neo-liberal policies of their IMF/World Bank bosses. Therefore their policies will not benefit most women who are the majority of the poor. There is a challenge of making sure that as the representation increases so also will the quality of life for the vast majority of women and poor men too.

 

Four, while principles like 'positive discrimination' in favour of disadvantaged people including women and other groups of marginalized people must be defended, there must be vigilance in order to ensure that this does not lead to a permanent quota ghetto for a few while the power structures remain the same. The limited quota approach is mainly incorporating women into the exploitative and oppressive system not tearing the system down. The men who control and benefit from that system can live tinkering with the system. What they cannot accept and that which must be done is to remove the socio-economic and political system that puts profit before people and penalises the majority of the population (by definition women). The relative progress in many areas should not close our eyes to the enormous tasks ahead to change the iniquities of the world that is disproportionately borne by women:

 

Poverty, hunger, illiteracy, marginalisation, HIV/Aids, violence and violent conflicts in general, political and economic disempowerment, denial of full participation among others.  We must ask ourselves how just and how fair is it that only 1% of all titles to Land in the whole world is owned by women?

 

It is not only in land ownership that women are so unfairly treated. ‘The Independent’ of London in its special edition for the Women's day displayed  other shameful statistics about the condition of women, not just in Africa but around the whole world that should make everyone wake up and stop being complacent about the fate of more than 50% of the population of the world. Just imagine: 70% of the 1.2 billion people living in poverty are women and children; 85 million girls worldwide are unable to attend school compared to 45 million boys; 67% of all illiterate adults are women; out of 191 heads of state/government who are members of the UN only 12 are women; and so many other depressing statistics.

 

While we quote these figures and raise questions about them on the occasion of women's day we should spend the rest of the 364 days of every year taking action locally while thinking globally on how to right these wrongs because it is impossible to create a better world without bettering the lot of women. The opposite is also true: the world cannot be a better place if women's conditions are not better in it.

 

Everyday is a Woman's day


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