Times Of Swaziland: THE FUTURE IS FEMALE

THE FUTURE IS FEMALE
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Editor on 13/10/2021 07:58:00


Sir,
I feel it is important to continue the fight for equality and call for the end
to gender-based violence. It is said that women hold up half the sky, but too
often many of us may not realise by just how much. All over the world women are
creating, designing and innovating to make better lives for ourselves, our
families and our communities.
Individuals, civil society organizstions and some leaders are building a bridge
of equality; connecting to others and imagining more prosperous and more
fulfilling relationships.  Women know and believe that women’s equality is one
of the most guaranteed ways to raise people and nations out of poverty, tackle
climate change and help fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). As a
nation we are concerned about achieving first world status, and that is not
possible if women do not have equal participation towards the achievement of
this goal.
Allegations
The storm of sexual relationships and statutory rape allegations against school
teachers that pupils in some schools are talking about these days takes away the
little hope I had for equality in the near future. How can we confidently say
the future is female if the very same women who are expected to grow up to be
leaders are destroyed while they are still so young? The quest for women’s
liberation from their traditional subjection is an essential part of the story
of human freedom, and the very people who are trusted with grooming these girls
into liberation are the ones who are destroying them and it is very
disappointing.
Leadership
The future is female does not mean female over male, nor is it trans-misogynist.
The future is female means that we must look to the female epitome for
alternative forms of leadership. It means we ask, ‘what can we learn from the
female energy in our lives’? It means we live in a world that is emotionally
intelligent, a world that is collaborative, a world in which we are linked and
not ranked. We say ‘the future is female’ as a call to action to remember
that we have so much to learn from those whom have been typically underestimated
in a heteronormative, patriarchal system.  We say ‘the future is female’ as
a personal reminder to ourselves that each of us has a voice, and that we must
own it.
In my years of advocacy, I’ve always been met with the ‘how about men’
question and it still surprises me that so many men feel attacked by campaigns
that are aimed at empowering women. When we say, ‘save the dolphins,’ we
don’t mean ‘kill the whales’. Similarly, when we say, ‘the future is
female’, we say it to serve as a reminder that alternative and possibly
stronger forms of leadership lie in untapped resources. That hope lies in
looking to those voices that have been typically unheard. That hope lies in
passing the mic to those who have never had a mic before, and having the
bravery, respect and diligence not to speak over them.
In modern history, there have been few examples of female leadership. We do not
know its power, its breadth, and its diversity. Think about what a future that
is female would look like if we gave women, non-gender conforming individuals
and those who are woke enough to learn from the female energy in their lives,
the chance to lead?