Key to empowering women is education
WOMEN’S Day in South Africa is celebrated with praises and fanfare.
Many sentiments are expressed about the power of women, and several speeches and articles are all directed towards women. It is admirable for women to be glorified to a point of being bedazzled and honoured in numerous ways.
In contrast, after a few days, when all this pomp and splendour surrounding Women’s Day has settled, reality surfaces once again until one year later, the ritual of Women’s Day celebration continues. It is overwhelming that after so much awareness and acknowledgement of women’s contribution to society, family and work – saluting their resilience and sacrifice – women are still considered only second to men and not really worthy of taking on leadership roles.
The assumption and common practice that women and girls look after the home and the family is a very real stereotype that not only discriminates against women but restricts women’s advancement within society and the work environment. These limitations have significant effects on women and girls. The most overt form of gender inequality is unequal pay or unfair promotions.
Women and girls make extraordinary contributions every day across all fields of human endeavour, including in business, education, sports, art, science, agriculture, parenting, and governance.
Without these contributions, economies would collapse, communities would fail, and families would fall apart. And yet, in many places, women still struggle to rise above their status of being second-class citizens. They are denied opportunities for full economic and leadership participation.
The only way to put an end to the widespread discrimination and exploitation of women is through empowering them.
The key to empowerment is education. Women have made great strides. We need to break the shackles of gender discrimination. While strides have been made, patriarchy is still prevalent. Patriarchy is a society in which a male is the leader of the family, or a society controlled by men in which they use their power to their own advantage. We have yet to eradicate women exploitation, destroy the scourge of women oppression and conquer the demon of patriarchy.
Bringing about change cannot just be the responsibility of those who need it most; we must have the support of those at the highest levels of power if we are ever to achieve parity. As long as discrimination and inequalities remain, as long as girls and women are valued less, overworked, underpaid, not well educated and subjected to violence, the potential of progression in a modern society will not be realised.
Change is not easy, whether it’s passing high school, graduating from university or trying to overcome difficulties, but dedication and perseverance goes a long way. And finally, we must recognise all the extraordinary women of Courage who worked tirelessly for democracy, but often, many of these great women risked themselves and their families for improving the lives of all women.
Dr Savy Moodley is an educationist who taught at several Durban schools, and volunteered at rural schools for several years.
She has a Doctorate in Philosophy, the highest academic degree awarded at universities, and has presented her research at international conferences.