Gender equality is one of the topics we have been battling as humans in this age. In fact, as of 2017, it is the fifth of the seventeen sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
Gender equality, which is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, cannot be said of the number of days used in celebrating women/female sex in a year. Why then is inequality in this regard a question that needs to be answered.
Many have wondered why women are being celebrated more than a couple of times in a year while the men have only a few days (prominent is the Fathers’ day) to be celebrated. There have been stereotyped views that women need more attention than the opposite sex.
Some say because the genetic makeup of men is better than that of the women while others in the biblical sense claimed because a female is created out a male’s body, they, therefore, a step lower and so needs favoritism as well as other reasons that me cooked up to see the male folks have been superior. It is no joke the society has a way of putting men ahead of women even though feminists have disputed this subject, it has been said that ‘what a man can do, a woman can do better’.
If this is the case, why then do we have more women’s day celebration than that of the men? The international communities have a way of creating awareness about the issues in our world as well as celebrating giant strides made in making the world a better place.
The list of international days marked by the United Nations (UN) in this regard shows there are many days for women than men. These include International day of zero mutilation tolerance to the female genital, international day of women and girls in science, international mother language day, international women’s day, international girls in ICT day, and international widow’s day. Others are the international day of the girl child, international day for rural women, no bra day and so on. This list, therefore, shows no balance in terms of gender equality.
According to Barrister Bukky a female lawyer, there can’t be equality in terms of gender. In her words ‘’I think it is a stereotyped view that it is man’s world and women should be given attention to keep up with men. I have realized that there can never be equality in this life, irrespective of gender. For starters, fingers are not equal. You will have a woman who is more equal than 10 men put together, the same way you will have more men who are more equal. See Megan Markle’s baby, he is not even a year old but he has more importance and prestige than President Buhari that is close to 80 years.’’
“My point is this, people should stop fighting the equality war. They should rather encourage and promote equal opportunities among men and women. People shouldn’t be treated specially because they are women. The same way for men, they shouldn’t be treated specially because they are male. Everyone should be given the same opportunity. But trust me on this, everyone won’t utilize the opportunity the same way, that’s why people end up being unequal.“
Mr. Olamilekan, a Chemist, has a contrasting view. He said “Women’s education level is lower than that of their male counterparts. Studies and statistics have shown that the number of educated men is more than women globally. Parents in most countries go all out to ensuring they provide the best for their male children educationally but neglect their daughter’s ambitions. Women need to be celebrated in line with the global movement of support surrounding gender equality and sexism. Women all over the world need to keep the fight for equality alive.“
The dominance of men in many cultures and the stereotyped view that we live in a man’s world has made it possible to have more women celebration than men. In a bid to create equality, awareness (through celebrations) has to be made that the women are equal to the men. It also has to be shown that if women are given equal opportunity, they’ll thrive and even be better in whatever areas they find themselves. The role played by women in the upbringing of a child makes celebrating women a priority. Days like mother’s day, international mother language day, and international mother earth day have to be created for this reason.
In a bid to show that women can also thrive in areas where the society tends to see the male having the upper hand, days like the international day of women and girls in science, and international girls in ICT day are been celebrated. It is always viewed that few women are seen in the sciences when compared with their male counterparts. For this reason, the female folks have shown that if a good working environment is provided, women do better, so a day is set aside to make this awareness known worldwide.
The international women’s day, which started in the United States on February 28, 1909, was set aside by the Socialist Party of America in honor of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York; this is where women protested against the terrible working conditions. The international day of the girl child is meant to promote the empowerment of young girls everywhere while also advocating for the attainment of their basic human rights like education and bodily autonomy.
Men are also viewed as been strong physically, so more attention is on the female body which is seen as fragile and more susceptible to attacks and diseases such as cancer. Awareness has to be created to help the women. Days such as the international day of zero mutilation tolerance to female genitals and month of breast cancer awareness (No bra day) is created, thus the reason for celebration in this regard. The perceived male dominance and reliance on men have made days like the international widows’ day to be observed so as to enable women who are totally dependent on their husbands to survive and live. This gap is being closed by creating awareness through a day marked for this purpose.
For these reasons, women have more celebrations than men in a world striving for gender equality. There is, therefore, a need not to sideline the men just because of the stereotyped views of men. Men also need attention and shouldn’t be at the receiving end of injustice just because people tend to see them as being the better sex. In a bid to ensure there’s gender equality, why not introduce more days to address the issues of men too. Huh! I suggest there’s an international day of appreciation for men too, aside the father’s day.
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