YOU RUN LIKE A GIRL...

How do you react when you hear the phrase "like a girl'?

#LIKEAGIRL

Recently, the conversation below ensued between  an old school mate and yours truly.

MICHAEL:  A man must be above his wife in 3 things : AGE, KNOWLEDGE and CASH  but  his wife  must be above him in 5 things: Patience, Neatness, Love, Planning, Prayer      

ME : This is the most misogynistic crap I have had the displeasure of listening to in a while.

MICHAEL: Why? What should be corrected there?

ME:  N.O.T.H.I.N.G. Absolutely nothing.

MICHAEL: Why?

ME: Because a list like this shouldn't even exist in the first place. You see, this kind of reasoning is not only archaic, but also myopic. If you take your time to read between the lines, you will deduce that it has the PATRIARCHY that was forced down our throats by customs, traditions and religious beliefs written all over it. 

Why should my knowledge, financial status and age be inferior to a man's own because I want to get married? Is he that inept to feel less of a man because I am presumed to have an edge? Are we in a competition? So, because I am a woman I must be the one to place neatness, patience, love and planning on my head like dreadlocks? What happened to his hands and mouth? Guy, it is this jaundiced view and stereotypes that have turned marriages into war zones.

MICHAEL: Excuse me!

ME: I am not done, please. I think what you are missing here is the fact that - as a woman, I am not a SUBORDINATE but a PARTNER. Don't come to me with your " must have or must not have" rules. We are not running an employer-employee relationship. It is a PARTNERSHIP. If this is the mindset, then the man in question does not need a WIFE , what he needs is a CLEANER and probably a napkin around his neck to avoid getting his shirt stained while he eats.

MICHAEL:  ...

       While we await Michael's hanging response, I want to put it out here for all to see, read and understand - no gender is inferior or superior. It is high time we all understood that gender equality is the receptacle for the actualization of all the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. As the Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie once said during her TED TALK,  " Culture does not make people, people make culture, why should we all remain narrow- minded because of culture or even tradition and beliefs? What is it with the roles and distinctions? After all, our graves would be identical, wouldn't it?  During one of my FulbrightTEA  classes, I had the pleasure of watching this campaign by Always and I must state here that this truly explains why we are where we are today,and what needs to be done.

PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!

At this juncture, parents, teachers and the community as a whole need to do better. We need to erase the mentality that has been so ingrained in us that we now see abnormal as normal. You know what I mean- 

         " A  man is a financial plan

           A woman is a domestic plan" - HOGWASH!

Gender equality is a human right and not a privilege. Parents should embrace it at home, teachers should ensure that their classes are safe havens for every child while communities are to protect and have these carried out. Posterity will judge if  WE ALL DO NOT BECOME FEMINISTS!