…but most of the power belongs to the men.
Is there a strategy behind holding women back, or is it just an old habit? I think this is an adequate question to ask, because old habits can be hard to change. It is not until someone challenges old habits, or traditions, or codes of conduct even, when they can change. Enough people have to demand a change, it will not be enough with one or two. A revolution has to happen before a whole society will change its ways of treating half its population.
The word ”revolution” comes from the ancient language latin, and it means upheaval or return. Does that make you any wiser? Didn’t think so, so let us analyze this and try to find a conclusion.
According to a dictionary, the word upheaval means a violent or sudden change or disruption to something. The word return is easier to understand, but we have to ask us: return to what and/or from where? Revolution can also mean a complete turn around, and suddenly we might find something we can comprehend.
To revolt is to make your point in a way that can not be misunderstood. Women don’t normally use weapons. We nag, we cry, we try to persuade. We discuss matters of importance with our friends and relatives, with our spouses – if possible and do so until someone listens to us. I’m sure this can be very annoying for the male part of the population, but we use the tools we have in our tool kit. We can raise our voices and even bang our hands in the table, but we normally don’t use weapons. Women don’t use the same methods as many men do, but nevertheless we are serious and demand a change when we find something really wrong.
In a patriarchal society, men have the power and they have the last word in a discussion. This is the tradition, but traditions have never been fixed. They have always change, they are a process, just like life itself. The tradition tells us that the man is the head of the family and the others are obliged to obey. Does the male genes make people smarter? Is the wisdom depending on what body parts you have, or not have? Is a man automatically smarter, just because he is a man? If that would be the case, then why is it mostly men who start a war? Why is it men who are developing weapons?
Why is it men who argue over borders or positions or justify the killing of innocent women and children? Why is it men who sell useless inflatable boats to refugees, still knowing that most of these people will drown before they reach the freedom they have dreamt of? Why is it men who persuade young people to leave their homes and tell them that going by jeep over the Sahara desert is easy? They don’t tell the refugees that if they fall off the fully packed jeep, somewhere in the middle of the desert, they are left there to die. A human life seems to be worth nothing!
A man called John Henrik Clarke once said:
” Powerful people cannot afford to educate the people they oppress, because once you are truly educated, you will not ask for power, you will take it.”
Is this why men in a patriarchal society hold back women and don’t give them the same opportunities as men? Do the men fear they must share the power, and if so – what do they fear will happen if more women come to power? Are the men suddenly less manly? Do they feel mentally castrated? Interesting question! If more women come to power, they will suddenly see that the men don’t achieve as much as they try to make it look like.
It is easy to brag for those who have a lack of insight, but hard to uphold the appearance of one’s perfection when they are mirrored in the eyes of perplex women.
There is a saying, that behind every powerful man there is a surprised woman. She knows him, knows his weaknesses and shortcomings. He is not able to convince her of his own perfection, when she is the one who is washing his dirty underwear. When women come to power, they work for the whole society. Their aim is to develop the society, as well as themselves and their families. When a woman has got the opportunity to get a higher education, she wants the same for her children , and especially her daughters. She knows how hard life is for women when they have no or very little power over their own lives.
When women have more power, they will make sure that their society evolves. They know the importance of education, of healthcare and infrastructure. They know that it is crucial to be educated if you want to take power over your life and not be someone’s servant. They know how important affordable healthcare is for everyone. They know that there must be healthcare cliniques everywhere so pregnant women can be checked, that children can become vaccinated and that wounds will be cleaned so they can heal and not cause infections that can become fatal. Women know that the pain a woman feels at childbirth is the same no matter your tribe or level of income.
If we want our society to evolve, we must give both men and women the same chances. We can’t hold women back and at the same time expect them to feel integrated in important matters. The education system must evolve and be up to date. I read on a news brief from the government that a textbook has finally been produced in The Gambia. This book is for senior secondary school and will be distributed out to the schools in the country. This is great news, but why has it taken this long? Has it taken this long before Gambians finally have understood that they actually can produce your own books instead of relying on the former colonizors?
The level of self esteem is so low in The Gambia, it is like you don’t trust yourselves and your own abilities. You know a lot so trust yourself. The Gambia is not England, you live in a completely different context in The Gambia and the school books must mirror that. You rely on the outer world for so much, and that gives you a false self of security. Trust yourself and be proud of what you are able to achieve. Let this first book be the corner stone in the great building of education in The Gambia.
Start from the beginning and produce books for the lower stages and go upwards. Speak to teachers and check with them what they need for their pupils. You have the greatest educator of them all in the country; Musa Bah. He is working as a principal in Mbullum, he is empowering the girls at his school . He knows what they need, he knows what the country needs to build a great education system. Musa is a modern man and a passionate educator. So many of his former students praise him and it is about time the whole country knows of him. I advice the Minister of Education to contact Musa Bah, he will not regret that.
