Feminism is the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. Although largely originating in the West, feminism is manifested worldwide and is represented by various institutions committed to activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests. The concept of feminism is a broad topic that, over the time, has gotten every researcher busy in getting to the bottom of resolving gender problems. Writers, especially in Africa where the issue of feminism relatively remains the most controversial debate, contribute their quota in every form of writing, both creative and academic writing form.
However, feminism remains a deep-rooted and expanding sea that no single one could swim to its perpetual end. Funnily enough, the more we proffer solutions to some gender-specific problems, the more other problems surface. It is categorically undeniable that women and men are different and they share different characteristics. By implication, what is somewhat peculiar to the male gender may not necessarily be suitable for the female gender, no matter how we painstakingly advocate for gender equality and equity.
That being said, even though women should be considered first in some aspects of life, the concept of 'women first' should not be entirely affiliated with everything under the sun. What happens to gender sensitivity? Though gender sensitivity tries to ensure that people rely less on assumptions about traditional and outdated views on the roles of men and women, it is pertinent to understand that this is not, for whatsoever reasons, preaching gender priority which is the main scope of the novel notion 'women first'. To be gender-sensitive is not limited to being conscious of language use in the context that constitutes all the sexes, rather it cuts across all gender-bound topics. Ironically, the pioneers of this notion will relatively understand, too, the impossibility of placing women first in every sphere of life due to the natural features of the female gender. Moreover, the agenda of feminism could blindly drive the agitators to cause other societal problems if the two sides of the scale are not balanced.
What is more, it is crystal clear that the notion of 'women first' is only used, specifically by the women, in the positive discourse without considering the condition or the situation of the other gender in the same context or setting. Analogically, there are several aspects of life that are open to both men and women to compete on open ground without prioritizing any gender or rating it above the other. In a situation whereby the generality of the people must queue for something; surprisingly, some people will begin to clamor for 'women first'. As a result, this could mean the deprivation of other people's rights, especially men. Unknowingly, by ''women first'' in a case like this, we are rendering the female gender (that we believe are fighting for) inferior to the male gender. And originally, the aim of feminism should be basically categorized as fighting for women’s rights if they are being denied.
I once attended a wedding in Lagos, Nigeria. After the solemnization and all the invitees had settled down for the reception program, the master of the ceremony (MC) called the parents of the new couples to the stage for a game. Then he asked the bride's and the groom's mother a question respectively.
“Who should first eat the fruit of the labour between you and your husbands?”
“We, the mothers,” they chorused the answer.
The master of the ceremony asked why and they said, “women first”. Then the master of ceremony (MC) asked them another question, “who should first die between you and your husbands?”
Without hesitation, the woman answered, “the husband!”
I was agape. The (MC) was, also. Then jokingly he asked them, “what happened to 'women first'?” What an irony of women first!
According to Andreas in his online article on the pros and cons of feminism, he states that women may not be accepted in certain positions if women are just promoted due to gender quotas and not since they are the best candidate for the job, chances are that their male colleagues might not accept them. Therefore, even though it might be easier to get leading corporate jobs through feminist movements, women might have a quite hard time to getting accepted by their male colleagues. Essentially, in Andreas' statement, it is not necessarily that the male colleagues will not accept the candidacy of the female colleagues because of their gender differences, but the point is the problems that could sprout out from the job appointment if it is solely gender-based and not on merit.
Subsequently, gender equality or gender equity should not be translated to 'women first'. Gender equality, as defined by Wikipedia, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations, and needs equally, regardless of gender. In this definition, the main point is placing all the sexes on the surface of life equality without stereotyping a particular gender as an exception or supreme. By implication, there is no room for promoting 'women first' in gender equality because that itself will open the door for another seemingly unending problem which is gender supremacy. Truly, women must always be considered especially in decision-making; they should not be consciously or subconsciously left out. However, that women should be considered first even in what is perceived as open to all will result in gender biases.
Rounding it off, it is essential to understand that gender discrimination will not improve any society under the sky, rather it could fasten its destruction. Society does not connote only the male gender, hence, adequate recognition must be given to the female gender in order to maintain gender balance. Also, it should be noteworthy that if care is not taken, we could be on the verge of being gender-biased in the name of promoting feminism. Maybe what the renowned woman writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, means by 'we all should be feminists' is to be gender-sensitive and gender-balanced.
Reference:
https://environmental-conscience.com/feminism-pros-cons/ (accessed on the 13th of September, 2022)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism (accessed on the 13th of September, 2022)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-equality (accessed on the 13th of September, 2022)
https://www.slideshare.net/Geetha-TG/gender-sensitivity (accessed on the 13th of September, 2022)
By P-Seven
The story behind women creation is more powerful than what we know, if only the history was not tempered with. We would have known