Let’s respect and empower women for a better world

As we mark International Women’s Day today, we must live up to this year’s theme of “I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights.”

The theme is aligned with UN Women’s new multigenerational campaign, Generation Equality, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. While this might just be a day to celebrate women, we should always recognise them daily and ensure their rights are respected. To imagine that women still suffer under the ignominy of patriarchy and kyriarchy in this century, is not only shameful, but sacrilegious, considering that a lot has been said, and more efforts made to make them feel safe at home, public spaces and work place.

Statistics show that women still do more than their fair share for humanity, but they bear the brunt of wars, diseases and other disasters, man-made or natural. At their places of work, women are forced to fight for opportunities even when they are better qualified than their counterparts.

At home, where they should feel and be safe, they are victims of violence visited upon them by people close to them. Women’s rights should not be negotiable. Women should not ask to be treated right. They should not plead for equality and equity. They should not be treated as if they are being done a favour.

Still, we should not be tied down to doing this for a day, and then subject them to all forms of sufferance for the rest of the year. Today is not just women’s day, it is day for humanity. It is a day for the society to sit back and re-calibrate its thinking towards women, and more so the girl-child.

It is easy to say that a lot have been done to uplift their lot. But is it true? Are we really being true to ourselves by insisting that the programmes meant to make the working and living environments better for women and empower them are working?

Can we be human? Can we be considerate? Can we have a heart and convert our words into action, till the women in our midst are empowered, safe and comfortable?