Women are humanbeings and not symbols of weakness

Merely being  a female  has been quite challenging for  many woman in the world  but particularly for women in Africa. This is because of the oppressive culture we are raised in.  To put it politely, we are regarded as objects to be seen and not heard, properties to be acquired and inherited and symbols  of weakness( it could be worse for other women) and raised as such right in our families by mothers who surprisingly are women. Right in our families, we witness  a marginalization and limitation of humans , not for lack of intelligence or ability but because of gender and we see a category of individuals being treated as lords of the manor - people  to be served while the other category are raised to believe that it is their role to serve. Until mothers start raising their boys to respect girls, men will continue to see women as symbols of weakness; objects  to be dominated and our  communities will continue to be unsafe.

Growing up as the only girl among three boys, all l kept hearing when l wanted to venture into anything or expressed an ambition were: Remember you are just a girl, don't you realize you are a girl? Or that is not for  girls. As if l needed a reminder to know my gender.  I was asked not to study law because, according to my family, it is not meant for women. I was denied a postgraduate studies opportunity abroad because of my gender, instead my brother was encouraged to go .As a child l couldn't help but wonder if women have a particular place mapped out for them and the world assigned someone to hang around somewhere to ensure they stayed just there.Even till date, while on the road, l hear people  drive past and make derisive remarks like : you drive like  a woman.  My take is this, we are humans first and foremost and should be seen and treated as such, not as symbols of weakness. And   this change lies in the hands of mothers. I have started the change  - right in my home and community. In my home l raise my two kids : a boy and girl to do the same chores, l do not make them believe certain chores are for females or males. And one day, my boy returned from school to tell me his teacher taught him that women are meant to cook and handle the house chores, l corrected that immediately. Also in my community service l mentor young people and teach them this culture change through a better me model. Every mother should please remove the limits from off their female children.