It matters. It matters that we have days like this that are focused on specific issues or subjects. It is not redundant or unnecessary or a waste of time. It is not a distraction from the main issue. In fact, I think it is a way of attracting us and drawing our attention to the main issues. So when you see people making posts and all that, don’t say “They have come again. Let the day sha pass so we can rest.” That’s bad.
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Gender equality is not a call for both men and women to do the same thing. It is not a call for sameness. No two human beings (even of both genders) are the same thing. Gender equality is a call to see men and women as what they are: human beings. No one is higher than the other based on their gender. There is no “you are the neck I am the head” or “I am the car you are the steering”
Men and women are human beings. No gender is inherently inferior to the other.
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We need to stay optimistic. It is important that we stay optimistic. It is compulsory in fact if we are to make any progress. There are those who say we will never achieve equality, that there will never be a perfect system so we should not bother to talk or shout or clamor for equality. That’s like saying we will never have global peace so we should not worry about stopping wars. Or we will never universal health so we should abandon medical research. Is it true that we will always have diseases to cure? Yes. Does that mean, we should abandon medical research and resign to death? No. It is like saying you can never have enough money and that you will always want more so why work for money? See how senseless that sounds? It comes from a place is shallow thinking. While it may be true that we will always want more peace, more money, more justice; that is not a justification for not digging for what we want. If anything, it is enough motivation to forge ahead, harder and stronger. Don’t be pessimistic. Don’t focus on impossibilities. Instead, focus on possibilities. Strive for it.
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We are actually making progress. You may not know it now or see it but if you look back, it will be obvious. Progress does not happen in one day. It is gradual and mostly slow. Can we fast-track it? Yes. But we will ignore the slow and albeit small progress we are making and have made and say we are not moving forward? No no. We will not do that. We will acknowledge the things we have done and the things we need to do. And we will do better.
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We need to listen to each other more. I attended an IWD event that made this clear to me and I mentioned it there too. Men need to listen to women more. Women also need to listen to men more. We can’t make progress if one half of the world is deaf to the other half. We are where we are now because men in the past were deaf to women. Reversing that to say women should also be deaf to men is just creating another problem and not making any progress.
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We need to listen to each other more. Be open to more listening and less talking. Talk, after listening.
First posted on WhatsApp stories.
Love this ❤️