BY FITSUM GETACHEW
World population statistics show roughly fifty percent of the world population is composed of women as opposed to men. The percentage may vary from place to place. In some areas it could even be fifty two percent or more. In some areas women are exposed to particularly hard labor and this may cause many early deaths and their number could thus diminish slightly while normally it is men who usually die earlier than women for a number of reasons not least their involvement in conflicts and wars. Besides if we take the case of the World Wars for instance, it was principally men who were active combatants and thus they were more exposed to the dangers of hostilities and violence and were subjected to deaths.
In fact in post war years it was noted that there were fewer men than women in for instance Germany and Russia as so many men perished during the war years. Women also do have their valuable role during conflicts of course such as providing assistance in food provisions, communications of intelligence and mostly taking care of the wounded. In our own country a lot was said about the contribution of women in the battle of Adwa where Ethiopians were victorious. Without them it would not have been imaginable.
For centuries women have not been given the same rights as men because of various reasons mostly cultural and religious. Admitting that there are natural differences between men and women however it has been established that there are practically no things that women cannot do that men can do. In the less developed countries women are expected to do only certain things and these tasks are left to only them. In some countries however they do very hard labor in the camps such as ploughing the land and preparing to sow seeds and cereals as well as fruits and helping in scores of hard work in the fields along with their husbands. They are then the major actors in the harvest seasons with hours and hours of hard work imposed on them. The domestic chores are always almost exclusively a task that women are supposed to fulfill while the men may be engaged in outside chores that involve usually hard labor for extended hours.
Looking more closely at Ethiopian society, the role of women may vary from one ethnic community to another. It also depends on what sort of belief is practiced by the given community. We have seen for instance in the Afar community the male part of the family is not very much engaged in doing any hard work except perhaps guarding the family from outside dangers with their active watch. It is instead the women who are very busy fetching water from the ponds or wells and carry home and prepare the food for the family, wash the clothes and take care of the babies if any. In the northern part of Ethiopia women seem relatively less burdened but they have the entire household chores given to them.
If we take the issue of equality with men, there is a long way to go especially in the rural areas where it is not thinkable. From the very beginning of their birth when they used to be promised for marriage to the child of a certain family considered very friendly, the injustice was really disheartening because the issue of consent was not even considered. Girls are considered practically the family’s property and they are married to the husband the family wants. And this is done even at an early age of the girl before she actually reaches the age of puberty. There have been several types of injustices carried out against our female members of the family across the years. For instance, in certain communities women cannot be owners of property. They need the approval of men. Even in today’s world there are remnants of this practice that need to be uprooted totally because we still hear in the news stories that remind us of the old days.
In today’s age of science and technology and the globalization of the world, in the age of social media, we cannot say that there is full equality between men and women even in the advanced societies because the numbers still reveal various forms of inequalities between men and women. Clearly there has been made tremendous progress even in our society but the formation of a just society is still very far away from being a reality. First of all, there is the traditional barrier that pulls back women from men causing a psychological obstacle. There is the stereotype in judging women as not capable as men or not at the height of excellence as men because of the prejudice that is hard to eliminate. Indeed it has been existent for centuries and does not go away soon enough. Sadly, even the expansion of education has not managed to eradicate completely the bias against women.
There have been movements for the rights of women for equality in every sphere of life for years now. This problem was recognized and that was why basically the International Women’s Day is marked every year on March 8. It was first marked in England in 1911 and since then it has been observed practically in every corner of the world and in some cases March 8 is considered a public holiday and work places are closed completely. In others it is celebrated with a panel discussion on the advances made and what remains to be done. Still in others it is marked by staging mass rallies in which principally women are the ones who lead the rallies.
The International Women’s Day has various objectives according to the organizers. It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day is also intended to mark a call for action to ramp up gender parity across the globe. Women are seen rallying for the rights of women to be equal to men and not be treated differently only because of their gender status. It is an important day because it highlights women’s achievements and their potential, creates awareness on the rights of women, and promotes positive change in the matter.
It is an inclusive campaign worldwide because everyone has a role to play in the campaign for equality of women with men. Events are carried out, festivals, rallies, lobbying and other performances to glorify the day and leave its mark. International Women’s Day campaign theme for this year is ‘embrace equity’. We can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias and seek out inclusion. There is need for collective activism and collective consciousness on this worldwide phenomenon.
A society that excludes its female part cannot achieve anything. In Ethiopia we remember during the Derg regime when they used to say ‘the revolution cannot succeed without the participation of women’. Indeed the first step towards equality is the admission and recognition of the importance of women to our society. Many often their real value has not been accorded them. For instance few people know and appreciate how crucial the housewife is at home and her labor is not quantified in money terms. We always tend to say that the breadwinner is the man and yet without the woman it would not be possible to go ahead in our day to day lives. The role of the woman in a family setting is absolutely crucial and only for that she would deserve equal treatment with men. And truly to embrace equity means to deeply believe, value and seek out difference as a necessary and positive element of life. It also means to understand the journey required to achieve women’s equality.
Yes the situation in our country has been changing and we now have very highly qualified and appreciated women who are leading the country at various levels beginning from the head of state. The number of ministers in the cabinet is also significant and there are various managers and chief executive officers who are women. But the issue is not only symbolic even if that has its own psychological impact. A girl in high school can now begin to believe in her means and aspire to be one day a minister or a prime minister. England has had more than one female prime ministers lately. Germany had the longest serving chancellor who was a woman. New Zeeland had also a woman prime minister until a few months ago. All this shows that there is real change in the making but it is not at all enough.
The journey to equality is not fast enough and not spread across all societies. Africa is one of the places where this pace is really slow. Even in the economic field the disparity is still glaring and there needs a huge change there. Now that the female enrolment in higher learning institutions is growing fast, we will have a better generation of women experts and academics in the near future. The awareness raising campaign must continue unabated until full equality is restored even if it takes a long time before such an achievement is reached. The International Women’s Day has its own contribution in this campaign and this long journey to equality.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 9 MARCH 2023
