100 years of women’s Struggles and Successes – Are we there yet?

On the 8^th of March, 2011, I was fortunate to join in the celebration of the 100^th International Women’s Day in Kailahun–Sierra Leone. As a gender activist and a development practitioner myself, it was a great day not only in terms of the activities and actions that took place, but also what the day stood for – 100 years of women’s struggles and successes in achieving gender equality

 As I joined in the street procession, dancing to the traditional tunes with the women of Kailahun, clapping and chanting to the songs sung by both men and women, it drew my attention to the sufferings and the successes that have been achieved over the last century. This resonated louder in my mind the more I looked at the women singing and dancing on the street and the more I imagined the war-torn Kalaihun just about a decade ago.

 Just about a century ago, voting rights were exclusive to men; women were marginalised and hardly participated in anything about state development. To some, the citizenship and belongingness of women to state institutions were questioned. For instance it was not until 1971 that women gained voting rights in Switzerland. Women’s issues were given tokenistic considerations and their labour went (and still goes) unrewarded. In the UK, women who suffered marital rape could not have justice in the criminal courts until the 90s. Even though women were actively involved and in some cases spearheaded the struggle for national independence in most African countries, their issues were relegated to the background upon the attainment of independence in most countries. In the case of those belonging to some race, ethnic group, caste and religion, they suffered double abuse and marginalisation because first because they are marginalised on those basis and also on the basis of their sex.

 It however also drew my attention to the successes which were spearheaded by some women like Rosa Parks whose action sparked a movement for the attainment of equality not only for black and white but also for men and women. My attention was also drawn to Charles Percy whose efforts led to the promulgation of the law requiring US bilateral assistance to enhance the integration of women into the national economies of developing countries and the consideration of women’s issues during international deliberations. The work of Esther Boserup and the many women and men who have worked very hard in ensuring that gender is mainstreamed into development can definitely not be overlooked. The granting of voting rights, criminalisation of violence against women and the increasing number of women into decision making positions and many more have been successes which cannot go unnoticed.

 Kalaihun is the second poorest district in Sierra Leone and it is one of the towns which were captured by the rebels during the Sierra Leonean war. Just about 400metres from my hotel, I was shown a collapsed building which used to be the slaughter house for the rebels during the war. Beyond that, one needed not to be told about the level of abject poverty, the effects of the conflict and the struggle to overcome the post conflict problems. The town has not electricity supply except the reliance on generators for power supply. Youth unemployment seems to be a ‘natural’ phenomenon. The need for interventions in various forms is obvious.

 One thing that struck me however was the passion, the joy and the excitement with which women and men trooped to the street, joined forces at a community durbar to discuss and make commitments towards the drive to achieve gender equality. Listening to some people and the women in particular, I could feel and sense their passions and pains from the atrocities suffered during the war but behind these feelings were hope, confidence, beauty and that inner sense of self-worth to bring about change and transformation for everyone (including their perpetrators) in their society. The women were articulate in asking for equal representation in parliament (at least 30%) and even went to the extent of challenging the traditional leaders (who were present and apologetic to the women for the pain caused to them during the war) to consider instituting a queen in the future. The commitment by the traditional authorities, political parties and other key and relevant stakeholders to commit in various ways to increase women’s participation, access to and control over resources and the empowerment of women through education was awesome. Some of these commitments were made by men who from my enquiries were conservative and unresponsive to change.

 During this interesting process, I wanted to put to test and challenge my own thinking and observation about power dynamics and gender equality. One of the things that caught my attention was the different levels of power that were wielded by the different women groups and this manifested in their interactions. Some of the women who looked glamorous had to ask the ‘ordinary-looking ones to get up and hand over their seat (an issue of power relations even in the women’s domain). I couldn’t help but also notice the seating arrangement between the men and the women. The men were seated in the front seat (elitist and powerful position in the African context) with women at the back. In the midst of my curiosity and excitement, I wanted to compare the inscriptions on the shirts or dresses of men and women. Whilst some of the women wore dresses with the inscription ‘unity is ours’ and ‘what education will you give me?’ some men wore shirts with the inscription ‘rugby; or ‘we throw rocks’. That is not to say the men did not care because a number of men turned up at the event with keen interest. I even spoke to a man working with men groups against violence against women.

 

 One of the important sections was the award scheme for women who have excelled in leading and driving positive changes in the district. It was one of the exciting parts of the entire event for the women in particular but the anticlimax point for the men (as evidenced from the facial expression of the men). About seven women in all received cash award to support them to continue with the good work they are doing. I couldn’t help but realise the expressionless and indifferent looks on the faces of the men. The danger of this is that some men could be antagonistic to the promotion of women’s issues, less supportive and feel less recognised even for the work they do in promoting women’s equality. This can however be managed by incorporating an award scheme for men promoting women’s issues and interests in subsequent phases of this event.

 As we celebrate the successes in achieving gender equality, we shouldn’t be complacent but recognise that women continue to struggle and experience marginalisation. Our ears should be sharp to hear and respond to the many voices crying out loud for support in their fight against unjust salaries, sexual abuse, constant intimidation, poor access and control over lands, children and their due inheritance. We should also not be naive about the powerful women who would always work to maintain the status quo for their own interest. We have come very far, achieved very important feats and gone on to show that if we work together, we can bring about the change we so desire.

 On this note, I want to say a big congratulation to our women as we celebrate the International Women’s Day. Another big congratulation go to those who have worked tirelessly to bring about this change.