Women constitute an estimated 50% of human herd across the globe; that has so far failed to translate into equity in democratic representations in political authority. Their contributions to the socio-economic advancements of the society remain largely unappreciated by the continuing struggle for space, self-expression, and gender parity. This raging issue is has come alive in the light of the recently celebrated International Women’s Day to locate some truism in the dysfunction interaction among feminism, patriarchy, and the society.
While the narratives, over time, seem fixated on societies of the developing south, the explosive Meghan Markel interview granted to Oprah Winfrey and the damning allegations that came with it are further proof that stereotypes hidden behind racism, sexism, colourism, and classism remained entrenched in the considered civilized corridors of the world. Canada-born Meghan was clear that the British monarchy which she referenced as “The firm” treated her with less dignity due to her colour and had her hubby, Prince Harry, to thank for standing solidly with her to pull through the agonies she endured within the opulence of the House of Windsor.
In October 2014, Tennis star, Serena Williams, was ridiculously made an object of a sexist remark when Shamil Tarpishchev a high-ranking member of the International Olympic Committee called her and sister, Venus, out as the “Williams brothers”. Although the comment generated widespread condemnation, it argued by some as evidence of the gender chauvinism inherent even in the world of sports.
Upon her recent appointment as first female (and African) to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO), Nigeria’s Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had a bite of the venom of the gender stereotype from a Swiss newspaper, Aargauer Zeitung, which reports her elevation to the headship of the international trade arbitrator with a most uncouth headline, “This Grandmother will be the new Chief of the WTO.” An apology was forced out of the newspaper for what it owned as “inappropriate and unsuitable” only after widespread opprobrium from the viewing public.
If these examples from the west are as fresh as happening in 2021, then one may begin to have a better grasp of the magnitude of the challenges women still struggle with in other regions of the world. Whether in India where women farmers have demonstrated courage in protesting unfavorable government policies, or in China where Ugur— women have suffered rape to cleanse them of their religious beliefs, the reality is always troubling to a concerned mind.
In Africa, practices like female genital mutilation, lack of access to western education for the girl child, widows’ rituals, unequal pay, human trafficking, and other such archaic traditions wrapped into religion and social conservatism are still encumbrances helping to deny women of a respectable social status across the continent. When Malawians went to the polls to during presidential election in April 2014, the country’s first female president, Joyce Banda was subjected to political ridicule focusing on her gender rather than performance. Her two years in office was often considered as purely ‘accidental’ only made possible by the death of her principal, Bingu Wamutharika in April 2012. The concomitant of her unsuccessful attempt to hold on to power was the reduction in the number of women in parliament from 43 to 33.
Nonetheless, events in Rwanda could be mentioned as demonstration of how things can progress quickly if and when women lead. With women-in-parliament population of 57%, representing the highest in the world, the country continues to enjoy a tranquil transformation as one of the fastest developing societies in the continent having turned the page from the catastrophic 1994 genocide that claimed about one million of its population.
It is within the framework of the conversation on how best to emancipate women in the global arena that instrument like that the ‘affirmative action’ of the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Women Conference in Beijing must not be pushed off the radar. Decades after the gathering in the Chinese capital, many countries of the world are yet unwilling to domesticate the instrument which recommends 35% quota for women in positions of authority. This, in the view of Gabriela Cuevas – President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), “… is not democratic to pretend that a parliament is truly inclusive if women are not fully represented.”
One of the legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic is registered in womenfolk as incidence of gender-related domestic violence is reported to have increased during the extensive lockdown by governments. Scooping from the accounts of the UN Women in a report titled “The Shadow Pandemic: Violence against women during COVID-19”, acts of physical assaults on women – in most cases by partners and relatives – rose significantly in the course of the pandemic.
In the midst of growing agitations for fairness and equity, one can be enthusiastic in a new generation of young, budding female talents like Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, Amanda Gorman and so many, all leading campaigns for a better world, be it in education, the need to protect the environment, demand to respect people of colour and the rights of minority groups in different spheres across the globe. Perhaps, these young, brave, and determined minds give hope that what Africa’s first female President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, anticipates as a “wave” of new global leaders is, after all, a reality in no distant time to come.
