Every woman was talking about the elusive and most misunderstood concept of ‘Women’s Rights’ and the elevation of women in society. Women converged from all walks of life: from every nation, religion and color. They all made their way to the Women’s Conference in Beijing (China). As a fifteen year old at that time I did not understand what the fuss was about, but everyone including my mother and her friends, were talking about Equal Rights – a concept I vaguely understood then. After Beijing, women felt like they had managed to ‘move mountains,’ - that their voices had finally been heard and that finally, they were ‘equal’ to men.
A history of how female inequality came about will not suffice at this point. Let’s consider the Beijing Conference, twelve years on. My God, it’s almost twelve years since the Conference! Have we achieved what we sought to achieve back then? I believe that most women will look back at that time and feel very proud and, being a woman, I salute all those women who fought, and continue to fight, for a woman’s place in society – a woman’s dignity. In Beijing, women sought to defy all odds and make the world realize that a woman’s place is not just the kitchen - women carry a bold voice too. Women have much more to offer than just being maternal creatures.
A woman is a symbol of hope, love, respect and change. I am proud to be a young woman who has seen changes slowly take place. In our time, for the first time, we have witnessed a female President in an African country - Ms Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia, and many other powerful African women achieve in business and society in general.
I feel proud in knowing that in Zimbabwe, Mrs Joyce Mujuru is a vice–president (even though some may find this not so gratifying.) Americans at this present moment are celebrating the candidacy of Hilary Rodham Clinton as the next possible leader of the Democrats and President of a Superpower – one of the most important roles in the world. Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead an Islamic state, not once, but twice as Prime Minister, has just passed on. She led the Pakistan People's Party and led it to election victory.
Women have come far from the days when they were disenfranchised, and viewed as second class citizens - secondary to men .Women have proved their worth and they continue to do so.
But as much as we celebrate these successes, there is a darker side to the ‘female victory’.
The road is not, and will not be, an easy one. Cases of abuse and ill-treatment abound. Take for instance, controversy surrounding the Miss Rural Zimbabwe, and allegations that have been brought up on the patron of the pageant (a woman). The pageant has been rocked with allegations - of selling sex and pornography to Japanese men living and/or working Zimbabwe.
It is very disheartening to see the low levels that women have to go to be seen, to be recognized and to be successful. I have no ‘beef’ with the modeling industry. I truly believe that women should show their beauty, it’s God-given, and they should be proud of what and who they are regardless of color, creed, race or size. Women are beautiful, period! But their dignity should never be compromised lest their inner beauty is lost; opening up opportunities for abuse.
Another pageant, Miss Zimbabwe Tourism, has been dogged with shameful allegations - allegations of rape, and sex-for-breakfast scandals by contestants; allegations of pornography and sex with foreign nationals. The patron of the pageant is said to have acted as the ‘Director’ of the whole sex scandal ‘ scri pt’. These are shameful allegations and they denigrate women, young and mature, to the lowest rung in society.
Even with the developments and achievements scored after the Beijing Conference, women still find themselves victims of the same old game that has been existent since the beginning of time -- that women should always “give up something to get something”.
Unsuspecting young girls, lured by the promise of prize money and a career for the first time, saw an ‘option out’ of poverty, and an opportunity to take care of their families and their loved ones. Parents of these girls unsuspectingly surrender them to these pageant patrons and organizers -- trusting them with their daughters. The girls are clueless of what the real world is like and unfortunately, are easy prey.
The Miss Zimbabwe Tourism pageant was meant to find that rare gem of African beauty. Yet the organizers seem to have quickly traded this dream with that of their own success.
By virtue of being a woman the patron of the Miss Zimbabwe Tourism pageant is also a victim in this whole scandal. She is a business woman and ‘hustling’ in a country where things are tough. Hustling is the name of the game. Her hustle, however, landed her in an abusive situation where she was stuck in the mud together with the pageant beauties. She was used and turned into a pimp. She was also ‘played’ into believing she could get ‘business’, become more successful in her business, and get more friends in high places. She has been scratched in all of this as much as the girls she managed. Her recent arrest and then release is evidence that a bigger storm is yet to come her way.
I’m not criticizing the Miss Rural Zimbabwe pageant per se or the patron of the pageant. I am concerned that certain women still believe that they need to ‘sell something of theirs, to give a little something, to smile a little harder and be a little nicer and sweeter to get what they want.’ I am critical of the belief that we, as women, hold unconsciously or consciously, the view that we can use what we have to get where we need to be. We should not have the perception that ‘a little something given up will not harm us’. Minorities soon become majorities and slowly, that ‘little something turns into a big something’ with grave consequences.
We should create a level playing field with men. No sweet and cute smiles are needed to get a door open. No Coca-Cola-bottle-figure can ‘create-a-way-where-there-was-no-way’. In this playing field, it’s not about what we can give or offer, it’s about what we can contribute with our brains, our experience, our tack and skill.
If we are caught up in indecision, we are our own worst enemies. And we still cry for equality? We become vulnerable. We become our own enemies and can easily betray each other in a heart beat. Our fight-with-men could be way smaller than the fight-with-ourselves - with every other woman you see everyday.
Sometimes we are quick to look down on each other; to think we are better than the other; to think we get can something out of the other – in some twisted abusive way. This is the demon in us we need to fight and conquer, and deal with.
Beijing, a milestone in our fight, dealt with our Rights in relation to men. We should now take Beijing a step further and deal with this inner demon. How do we deal with fighting ourselves, fighting our own minds?
We are beautiful, wonderful and divine. We need to act like we are exactly that and protect each other from a world that could still potentially abuse us.
Have a prosperous 2008 and always remember you are Truly Zimbabwean.
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