In our world, gender inequality has always been an issue. The male and female gender has certain suffrage that has caused a social imbalance in many ways, but we can rightly say that the female gender has the short end of the stick.
The saying ‘it’s a man’s world’ isn’t a fallacy as history and even current happenings have proven this statement true. The male gender has various privileges and undergoes little or no scrutiny in their qualifications for a particular position or job. Meanwhile, on the other hand, women have to go through more crucial tests to prove themselves qualified for anything at all even as little as being able to speak in certain situations.
The rise of feminism has further expressed the need for change in narrative. There are myriad reasons why feminism came about. Some of these are the problems and issues facing the female gender: Sexism, racism, economic inequality, navigating career and motherhood, increasing rates of maternal mortality, violence, and mental health issues, just to mention a few.
A Step to Change
The quest to help the female gender is not only limited to female feminists. More men should be feminists. This is because most harm done to women has been confirmed to result from affiliation with men in our society.
Millions of girls are subjected to abuse, child labour, trafficking, and other offences. Your gift will go where it’s needed most, protecting girls and women by equipping their skills, special training, education, counselling, medical care, small business loans, and other programs that empower women and girls as well as boys, helping to end cycles of gender-based violence.
When we learned about Nigerian history, we did not know much about notable people such as Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, Charlotte Obasa, Oyinkan Abayomi, or Queen Amina of Zazzau, or the women who played vital roles in shaping our nation. We learned about great men like Herbert Macauley and Sir Tafawa Balewa. We also learned about Westerners as the Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who was attributed to discovering the Niger River that had sustained bustling kingdoms long before Mungo Park was even born.
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, countries headed by women representing diverse cultures as Germany, Norway, Finland, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Namibia managed the crisis more effectively, with fewer fatalities and less livelihood loss than others. What distinguishes these health winners is not just the female shape of their leaders but the feminist shape of their societies.
The Movement is Now
The pillars of our society are both men and women. The praises and recognition given to men should also be given to women thriving in various fields.
Successful women should not have to go through so much scrutiny to be recognized. As we study several histories about male nationalists and inventors, we should learn more about female achievers.
The feminist movement is making progress. Nevertheless, we are certainly not there yet. Until the other pillar gets her credit as duly deserved, the feminist movement still has more to achieve.
Written by Sophia Onwuamah
