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EQUALITY MUST EVOLVE WITH TIME

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Sir,

Does it mean we do not understand what the much talked about gender equality is all about? I don’t think so. The message is there and very clear for all. Women are humans and deserve to be treated and be seen as humans who are well able to use their minds and power of choice over every situation they come across. All humans are born equal and free in dignity and in rights.

This is a clear and self-explanatory statement which needs no further modification. Women, like men, have the power to do everything they see fit for them.


However, socialisation has channeled women to stay away from public participation. It is wrong for a woman to welcome guests in a home, a man is supposed to do that while the woman prepares food for them. They talk, debate and resolve things alone as men. They sharpen their speaking and negotiation skills. Young women grow up under these circumstances and it lies deep in them like a pair of glasses they wear without noticing and unable to take off. In as much as there has been advocacy and promotion of equality, there are still women who do not want to break from that idea of a woman. I don’t blame them, loyalty is like that.


There is also the belief and struggle to maintain and uphold culture, the struggle to break away from Western influence. But I have a problem when this idea is used to continue suppressing women. I am an African, a proud African but I will not run away from the fact that we live by influence. Patriarchs have used this ‘culture’ to stay in power, which is why it has brought us this far.

Where are we going then with this thing? It makes one wonder if culture is stuck 100 years ago or is it revolving with time like everything else. If it is immune to amendment and relevancy, then let us stop the noise about equality but if it is revolving with time, then serious and drastic changes need to be made.


Knowledge is power; information is the key that opens doors to bigger and greener pastures. Gender equality is not a substitute for patriarchy but rather a way to ensure that all persons are respected accordingly. Gender equality is not here to degrade others, not to avenge, not to make men inferior.

The debate that God made Adam first and Eve later which means men have to always be on top is just baseless. Fear is a playground for cowards; we should thrive to be entrepreneurs and proactive people. We should make the equality gospel clear for all, looking for ways to harmonise the factors that make us Africans and our society good and safe to live in. Influence is here and we should not run away from it but scan it to see which will work for us, adopt it and ignore which will not.

V M Manzini

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