Chronicle (Zimbabwe)

Women must stop the blame game Focus more on equity and social justice issues

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programmes they would have funded is because they view their donations as a means to an end. It is well known that companies donate to non-government­al organisati­ons to avoid the steep taxes that they have to pay.

So, when they see programmes that they don’t take seriously, they fund just for the sake of it and never check the progress. Meanwhile, women with the “blame it all on patriarchy” mindset will go on talking about how nobody checks the progress of the advancemen­t of their issues! It is unfortunat­e to say the least.

Women should stop fighting for equal rights but focus more on equity and social justice issues. While it seems admirable to other women to be so radical, radicalist­s seldom achieve much. A more tolerant, more inclusive approach has been proven to achieve much more than any radical approach has.

Fighting has never helped, especially if it is aimless and emotional. All it does is make you feel better but the situation remains the same. How many years have women been fighting for equal rights? How much progress has been made? A lot, well, in the legal fraternity. And I know for a fact that there have been fights, but they were not emotional fights. They were strategic and they achieved quantifiab­le things. The radical and name calling approach has only been dramatic and not as successful as the liberal one.

I know my readers are very opinionate­d and I love it! I also know that I will get a lot of feedback about this particular topic! I’m just being honest though. We need to change our approach if we are to be taken seriously and achieve notable progress. When you get a platform, please use it responsibl­y instead of tapping into the equality game that you will never win. God, our Maker, did not make men and women equal so any energy invested into changing that is energy wasted.

Let’s dwell on social justice issues and move towards making the world a better place for our children, the next generation. Surely we can’t keep talking about equality for centuries while women remain in the same position that we were in terms of health, education and politics to mention but a few. Things must change and the responsibi­lity lies in all women, in every speech we make at every opportunit­y we get. Use it wisely.

Tsungai Chekerwa-Machokoto can be reached via email on tsungimach­okoto@ gmail.com

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 ??  ?? Zimbabwean­s mark Internatio­nal Women's Day in this wire picture
Zimbabwean­s mark Internatio­nal Women's Day in this wire picture
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