guest column: Miriam Tose Majome
Feminism is about gender equality.
Misandry is about hating men.
Female supremacy is about women dominating men.
The definitions are quite clear and easy to understand.
The only people who deliberately obfuscate feminism with misandry and female supremacy are antifeminists attempting to hide their antifeminist position – Annie Chant
March is dedicated, by some countries, to commemorate and celebrate the wonderful beings that are women. Throughout the month, we will discuss some of the legal issues which affect women and why they are so important. Today we broadly discuss why it is vital for women to be involved in decision-making processes of issues that affect them.
There is a plethora of domestic laws, international laws, conventions and protocols about women’s laws and rights. But what is so special about women? Some men are often heard remarking snidely about why there are no men’s laws or men’s rights. Some men believe that these special laws about women and dedicated upliftment programmes give women unfair and undeserved advantages. They conveniently downplay, ignore and even justify the many cultural, economic, biological, social and other factors that have traditionally provided them with unique advantages to get ahead at the expense of women. Bible verses are liberally quoted and it always works like magic, despite the fact that no woman contributed a single line to writing the Bible. The same is true for the other major religions.
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Women are tired of cooking the meal, and fighting for crumbs thrown at them on the floor. Women’s rights are not about overturning the table, chasing men away and grabbing all the food. Nothing could be further from the truth. Women only want the equal share of the pie because they are equals. They are not junior partners, helpers or anything else that the usual propaganda spins. Men who fear empowered women tacitly admit that their elevation depends on the oppression of women. It is an admission that women are the rungs of the ladders they use to climb to the top. It is, therefore, a major calamity when the rungs decide to detach themselves. To try and stop this, such men use all sorts of tricks, including religious and cultural propaganda to maintain the status quo. To borrow from a popular local gem of wisdom coined by a former wise man – men cannot reform themselves out of power and indeed their privileges. So women have to show up for their own fight and tussle it out. Women are slowly detaching themselves from the vestiges of oppression, the more they gain confidence and skills to fight and claim their rights.
Women are not satisfied with token representation either – they want equal seats. The dinner table analogy is a simple, but very accurate illustration of the importance of equal gender representation in positions of power big or small from Parliament, councils, board rooms, classrooms, school development associations, student representative bodies, trade unions, the playground and in the home. There are many legal, legislative, administrative and policy issues at all levels, high or low, that affect women and they have to be in all of them to represent their own interests.
Men and boys will not do it for them because many of them are busy fighting to preserve the status quo. Many deem their power and privileges to be under threat if women finally succeed in taking half the seats at the table. Women have to show up, speak up for rules, laws and policies which help them. They must be prepared to roll up their sleeves get dirty and fight to tear down the many discriminatory laws and practices that militate against their progress and welfare. Indeed they must be prepared to get dirty and fight for half the seats without a single apology. They must be prepared to ignore and forge ahead despite the many names they will inevitably be called in order to shame them and shut them up.
The Sadc Gender Protocol proposes a 50/50 representation in Parliament and positions of influence for member countries. The resolution is still a long way from reality. In Africa, only Rwanda has the majority of legislators being women. If women are not adequately represented in spheres of influence they will always be behind and will always be pleading for crumbs.
Can a majority male Parliament be trusted to prioritise issues and debates that affect women and influence women-friendly legislation? Looking at only a few of the laws passed in our Parliament so far, such as the removal of duty on sanitary wear, statutory paid maternity leave, the Domestic Violence Act etc — would male MP’s have debated and fought for these laws and rights with the same fervour and tenacity women parliamentarians like Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga did? Women do not fight alone, but have many progressive male partners that fight on their side, but these are peripheral issues for men. Without the very able female parliamentarians, who fought so tenaciously for them, these important issues would still be filed and forgotten somewhere.
Women’s emancipation is a political and economic issue. Nations cannot develop when more than half their population is not able to contribute to their development. This is only common sense. Former US President Barack Obama’s most iconic speech was that the best judge of a country’s development potential is how it treats its women citizens. He likened a country to a team which hopes to play and win a game yet it doesn’t allow half of the team members to play.
Women’s rights are policy issues. When maternal rights and reproductive health policies are neglected women die because of child birth and pregnancy complications. If employment laws and policies are not properly established maternity leave rights are violated and women are not protected when they suffer sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination in remuneration, training opportunities and promotions.
There can be nothing for women without women. The abortion debate and whether or not to fully legalise it is inevitably going to creep back into national debate and into Parliament sooner than later. If women do not grab seats at the table, a bunch of men will always sit to decide what women should and should not do with their own bodies.
Feminism is about gender equality. Misandry is about hating men. Female supremacy is about women dominating men. The definitions are quite clear and easy to understand. The only people who deliberately obfuscate feminism with misandry and female supremacy are antifeminists attempting to hide their antifeminist position – Annie Chant
March is dedicated, by some countries, to commemorate and celebrate the wonderful beings that are women. Throughout the month, we will discuss some of the legal issues which affect women and why they are so important. Today we broadly discuss why it is vital for women to be involved in decision-making processes of issues that affect them.
There is a plethora of domestic laws, international laws, conventions and protocols about women’s laws and rights. But what is so special about women? Some men are often heard remarking snidely about why there are no men’s laws or men’s rights. Some men believe that these special laws about women and dedicated upliftment programmes give women unfair and undeserved advantages. They conveniently downplay, ignore and even justify the many cultural, economic, biological, social and other factors that have traditionally provided them with unique advantages to get ahead at the expense of women. Bible verses are liberally quoted and it always works like magic, despite the fact that no woman contributed a single line to writing the Bible. The same is true for the other major religions.
Women are tired of cooking the meal, and fighting for crumbs thrown at them on the floor. Women’s rights are not about overturning the table, chasing men away and grabbing all the food. Nothing could be further from the truth. Women only want the equal share of the pie because they are equals. They are not junior partners, helpers or anything else that the usual propaganda spins. Men who fear empowered women tacitly admit that their elevation depends on the oppression of women. It is an admission that women are the rungs of the ladders they use to climb to the top. It is, therefore, a major calamity when the rungs decide to detach themselves. To try and stop this, such men use all sorts of tricks, including religious and cultural propaganda to maintain the status quo. To borrow from a popular local gem of wisdom coined by a former wise man – men cannot reform themselves out of power and indeed their privileges. So women have to show up for their own fight and tussle it out. Women are slowly detaching themselves from the vestiges of oppression, the more they gain confidence and skills to fight and claim their rights.
Women are not satisfied with token representation either – they want equal seats. The dinner table analogy is a simple, but very accurate illustration of the importance of equal gender representation in positions of power big or small from Parliament, councils, board rooms, classrooms, school development associations, student representative bodies, trade unions, the playground and in the home. There are many legal, legislative, administrative and policy issues at all levels, high or low, that affect women and they have to be in all of them to represent their own interests.
Men and boys will not do it for them because many of them are busy fighting to preserve the status quo. Many deem their power and privileges to be under threat if women finally succeed in taking half the seats at the table. Women have to show up, speak up for rules, laws and policies which help them. They must be prepared to roll up their sleeves get dirty and fight to tear down the many discriminatory laws and practices that militate against their progress and welfare. Indeed they must be prepared to get dirty and fight for half the seats without a single apology. They must be prepared to ignore and forge ahead despite the many names they will inevitably be called in order to shame them and shut them up.
The Sadc Gender Protocol proposes a 50/50 representation in Parliament and positions of influence for member countries. The resolution is still a long way from reality. In Africa, only Rwanda has the majority of legislators being women. If women are not adequately represented in spheres of influence they will always be behind and will always be pleading for crumbs.
Can a majority male Parliament be trusted to prioritise issues and debates that affect women and influence women-friendly legislation? Looking at only a few of the laws passed in our Parliament so far, such as the removal of duty on sanitary wear, statutory paid maternity leave, the Domestic Violence Act etc — would male MP’s have debated and fought for these laws and rights with the same fervour and tenacity women parliamentarians like Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga did? Women do not fight alone, but have many progressive male partners that fight on their side, but these are peripheral issues for men. Without the very able female parliamentarians, who fought so tenaciously for them, these important issues would still be filed and forgotten somewhere.
Women’s emancipation is a political and economic issue. Nations cannot develop when more than half their population is not able to contribute to their development. This is only common sense. Former US President Barack Obama’s most iconic speech was that the best judge of a country’s development potential is how it treats its women citizens. He likened a country to a team which hopes to play and win a game yet it doesn’t allow half of the team members to play.
Women’s rights are policy issues. When maternal rights and reproductive health policies are neglected women die because of child birth and pregnancy complications. If employment laws and policies are not properly established maternity leave rights are violated and women are not protected when they suffer sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination in remuneration, training opportunities and promotions.
There can be nothing for women without women. The abortion debate and whether or not to fully legalise it is inevitably going to creep back into national debate and into Parliament sooner than later. If women do not grab seats at the table, a bunch of men will always sit to decide what women should and should not do with their own bodies.
