Thiya Belaku - March 2015

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Editorial
On the occasion of this year’s International Women’s Day it is vital to
remember that the issues of equal rights and gender equality should
receive attention throughout the year, and not just on one day in March.
In the absence of societal change and educational reform, nothing will
change in the long term. Until all men view women as equals, and not
as objects, then one in three women will continue to experience violent
sexual or physical assault in their lifetimes, they will continue to be paid
less, have reduced access to health care and job opportunities, and they
will continue to be marginalized in politics and in other sectors.
A revolution in thinking requires better education, for men as well as
women, so the latter also realize their potential, and their abilities, which
they are so often told they do not possess.
In this part of the world where culture and religion so often intersect in
ways which prop up patriarchal structures and systems, it is also
essential to remember that the fight for even the most basic of rights
for women, everywhere in the world, sometimes took decades. But once
achieved, and when supported by reforms in attitudes and education,
they are hard to take back.
I am sorry to be the one to raise this issue but I am going to put it straight
out there so there is no confusion: men and women are not equal. For
two things to be perfectly equal they would need to be the same and
it should be self-evident that a man and a woman are not the same.
Not only are they different on the physical level but they differ in almost
every way they relate to the world around them. Men and women have
different communication skills, different uses of emotion and even
different perceptions of pain. However just because men and women
are different does not mean that one is better than the other, in fact the
very existence of humanity depends on these differences. These
differences are what we might call complementary and they are part of
the richness and design of humanity.
We have a major problem in our modern society though, we want
everything to be ‘equal’, at least equal in the way we think it should be
equal. Marriage has to be suited to whatever combination certain people
desire lest it be discriminatory, faith-based employers are forced into
employing those not of, or contrary to, faith, and some workplaces have
quotas placed upon them in order to employ equal numbers of men and
women.
When a society fails to understand the nature of men and women it is
true that everything can look unfair but we set rather arbitrary standards
of where fairness lies. Men dominate senior positions in the largest
global companies, most likely because they have particular natural
abilities to do those tasks well. Women dominate the raising of the next
generation of humanity and professions which nurture and educate,
most likely because they have particular natural abilities to do those
tasks well. Of course there will always be men and women who have
certain talents which mean they are better in tasks that are not as
common for their sex and that is fine also. If we were sincere about the
equality issue we would insist that besides a quota of women in
leadership positions, a set number of men become carers to the disabled
and work at home raising children. However this is not an issue about
genuine equality, it is an issue about power, we all want to be out there
doing what is seen to be the most important job at the time, but
meanwhile we so often forget where the important things lie.
Men and women are not ‘equal’ in their gifts but both sexes have a
multitude of specific gifts and we always remain equal in our dignity as
human persons. The more we focus on false notions of power and
equality the less happy and satisfied we will be. Better that we realise
and highlight the complementarity that men and women share and use
it to make our world a better and more just place.
O Man!
Woman is a weal
Not a woe
A friend not a foe.
We men do not know
Woman
Though we love
Our mothers
Our sisters
Our daughters
Our wives in our life.
Owing to us
The GIRLS
Her tender plants
Are insulted
Teased
Groped
Molested
Raped
Grilled or killed
Not for any faults.
O Man!
Must ye know
Man is a suffix
To the root of woman
Who cares for our weal
Even in woes.
O Man!
Woman is a weal
Not a woe
A friend not a foe.
-Sridhar S. Suvarna, Editor-in-Chief
THIYA BELAKU
...............................................
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