Maravi

‘Men shouldn’t feel uncomfortable to share power with women’

‘Men shouldn’t feel uncomfortable to share power with women’
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Mon 08 Mar. 2010, 09:20 CAT

UNITED Nations resident coordinator Macleod Nyirongo has said men should not feel uncomfortable to share power and treat women with dignity.

In a message to mark the International Women’s Day which falls today under the theme Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities; Progress for All, Nyirongo said it was understandable that men had held positions of power for a long time now and may be uncomfortable to share this power with women.

He said it must be realised that women as citizens had the same rights as men in holding positions of power, participating in their national development process and needed to be treated with dignity and respect.

“We must therefore move from the delay and sterile tactics of always questioning the ability of women, by embracing the realisation that we are equal partners in the development processes of our nations. Fellow men, I understand that we have held positions of power for a long time now, and it may be uncomfortable to share this power with our countrywomen,” he said.

Nyirongo said the key factor in social transformation was education.

“So get all those girls to school. Do not marry them off early, for this is where they lose out against boys. It is the right thing to do,” Nyirongo said.

He said the question of whether it was possible for women to be equal partners in development was still under debate, not surprisingly protracted by men.

Nyirongo said in answering this question, he seized the momentous occasion of the commemoration of International Women's Day, to discuss gender, an issue much talked about but less understood, and also deliberately distorted particularly by men.

He explained that gender referred to the socially constructed differences and relations between males and females.

Nyirongo said these varied widely among societies and cultures and changed over time.
He said gender characterised the differing roles, responsibilities, constraints, opportunities and needs of females and males in all areas and in any given social context.

He said one could safely say that gender roles were learned behaviors in a given society, community or other social groups.

“These roles condition which activities, tasks and responsibilities are perceived as appropriate for males and females respectively. This perception of roles and responsibilities has serious implications on power relations between females and males of all ages which in turn determine who has access to and control over tangible and intangible resources,” he said.

Nyirongo said arguments of why it was perceived that women could not have equal opportunities as men abounded.

“Again these are purported by men and, unfortunately at times supported by women who are themselves victims of the 'African tradition argument'.

These include arguments that women are weaker than men; women are not good decision makers and hence cannot be in position of high authority and also that the whole discussion of gender equality is foreign and goes against the African tradition. None of these are true!

These perceptions have also resulted in some men insisting that women must remain subordinate and have sometimes treated them with ridicule and as sex objects,” he said. “I do not think you will be surprised that my response to the question, 'can we be equal partners in development?' is a resounding yes: women can be equal partners in development.”

He said he was supported by this, firstly by history where many countries of this sub-region including Zambia and his own country Malawi had women in positions of power and decision making in the traditional governance structures.

Nyirongo said some of the very strong chiefdoms in Zambia today were headed by women.
He said in recent times there had been a number of breakthroughs of women holding high offices in the government, citing Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sir-leaf the first African female President.

“She was elected into office when Liberia was in ruins due to a war for power amongst men! Today Liberia is a country on the mend with a government administration that is mostly led by women. In Zambia a number of women in decision making, including some in the private sector, are among the best performers if not the best,” he said.

Nyirongo said the argument about women being weaker than or not as strong as men was negated by the numbers of women who fought alongside their fellow men in the liberations struggles of most African countries.

Labels: MACLEOD NYIRONGO, WOMEN

posted by MrK @ 10:38 AM