Human Rights Is Women's Empowerment'

2013 VOF WEEK 2
‘Human Rights Is Women’s Empowerment
My upbringing setting was a Patriarchy Society, where women were regarded as second class citizens, or as properties whose values were equated to that of a piece of furniture in an apartment. They were only to be seen and not heard.

Furthermore, so much value was placed on the male child in the society then. They were regarded as the hen that lays the golden egg. If a woman gave birth to a girl child, the whole atmosphere would look gloomy especially if she had had several female children earlier. But as soon as the birth of a male child is announced, the tempo of the celebration automatically increases. Worse more, for the girl child, was if she happens to be the first child in the family. She does all the family chores daily while her brother idles away playing or watching TV only to be treated like an heir to a throne.

With very keen observation, i became very agitated and angered at the happenings around. There were so many questions to be answered. I waited patiently and looked forward for an opportunity to be heard. I also resolved to study hard and impact lives if given the opportunity. Leadership opportunity soon came my way as a high school prefect and many girls were motivated through the debating club regularly as we met after school to discuss issues that bordered us. This however, led to the development of some salient skills in me - assertiveness, self-esteem and study skills.

As i grew into womanhood, i began to read books on profiles of great women who dared to create changes in their communities by changing the old stereotypes of society through personal development and hard work. Personally, i was inspired by women like Condolezza Rice, Magarette Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, many but a few to mention.
I began to dream and visualize a society where women would not be marginalised, stigmatised and discriminated against but rather would be accorded their rightful place, rights and opportunities like their male counterparts.

This began to spur in me a great desire and yearning to tell my story to the world. It also kindled a burden/vision to work hard in empowering the girl-child and women with basic tools like education, self-esteem and exposure, that will make them stand ou, walk tall and make a difference in this dispensation.
This is our time!