On this International Women’s Day, celebrated the world over, it is apposite to reflect on the role of women and the caprices they are subjected to within their homes and outside. Disparities in treatment do not seem to dissipate despite legal and administrative frameworks fostering parity and personal development. Various impediments lie on the way to a meaningful and effective empowerment strategy.
All too often women are taken for granted as mere subservient objects: of pleasure, of labour, of show. Injustice, harassment, violence and domination from their male counterparts have become commonplace coupled with the erosion of mutual trust, respect, love and sanctity within the marital walls. Some spouses linger to mature as responsible and independent individuals at the mercy of their own parental influence. In many cases the point of no return is inevitable. At work or at home the woman is silenced and reduced to suffer a fate she didn’t subscribe to in the first instance.
The extent of resulting distress – emotional, psychological, economic, familial and social – is unfathomable with the collateral damage to the well-being of their innocent off springs. With little say in the process of picking up the pieces from a staling relationship, the woman has, more often than not, to assume dual role in an endeavor to minimizing the impact on children. Society scorns, not at the man, but at the woman. Such is the fate, sadly yet in 2024.
But there’s no reason to remain complacent. No one can better comprehend the needs, desires and the state of mind of women than women themselves. Rising up means getting organized, empowered, grabbing opportunities to change the course of destiny by their own hands, and make their voice count. Enough with the rubber stamp role.