WOMEN DESERVE MORE THAN JUST A DAY!

For the world to set aside just a single day for women in marking their achievements for humanity is simply oxymoronic and grossly absurd! Thus, in this article, I am deeply concerned with why the world should strive and evoke the culture of celebrating women’s achievements to uphold gender justice, truth and women’s rightful dignity.

Yearly, we talk about Women’s Day; a day set aside for the celebration of the woman. Yes, on Women’s Day, we celebrate the inspiring and courageous work women around the world are doing to secure women’s rights and shape more tolerant and equitable societies. It is important to ear-mark a day to give the world an opportunity to reflect, rejoice and for women to recharge themselves together in their various communities, as well as with other women across the globe, and moreover to give thanks for the generations of amazing women who have come before us, and the generations of phenomenal women still to come! It therefore provides a potent chance to empower and inspire women, and to reflect on the progress that has been made. But when one looks deeply and sees the real picture of the vital roles played by women; from the media magnates and shape-wear superstars, and from those who entertain us to those who lead, and from those who challenge us to those who inspire us, women deserve more than just a day. They deserve regular opportunities also, to shine a light on all women that have made a contribution to our society, and who are providing strong role models for future generations.

Hence, celebrating women’s achievements ought to be a continuous exercise carved in diverse forms. The woman is a vital pillar of society. The woman entails and signifies many things, and frankly speaking, she puts in more in society-building more than the man; she is the mother of all, everybody’s first teacher, the wife, the consoler, the care-provider, the sister, the daughter, and many more. Wherever she is, she participates actively in society; healing, feeding, educating and defining the world.

Despite all these contributions to mankind, we all know that nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men. Women also continue to be victims of social discrimination, violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women worldwide. Yet, there are some women who have overcome all these inequalities and the prejudices and have excelled in their fields. They have entered professions that are male-dominated and blossomed. They have not only been successful but have in some cases given the men a run for their money! Their courage, focus and iron-will have been their assets and they have used them intelligently and confidently. The world has witnessed women whose outspokenness, determination and refusal to compromise made the world shut up and pay attention over time. They measure power of a different variety: the power to command a news cycle. If they are not topping organizations or corporations or state, they wield as large budgets and impact millions. From Melinda Gates and IMF chief Christine Lagarde to Director-General of World Health Organization Margaret Chan, World Food Programme Executive Director Ertharin Cousin, International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Harvard University’s Drew Gilpin Faust; in all kinds of ways, women are making an enduring impact around the globe. They strongly represent a league with hard power; the economic, humanitarian and political clout that brings change on a macro level.

In the Asian region socio-economic development miracle for instance, women are showing their might; from Park Geun-hye, the South Korean president and Burmese activist and parliamentarian Aung San Suu Kyi to Australian PM Julia Gillard and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The whole region makes a strong showing of the woman, even from the conservative super-power China to the regional Tiger, Singapore, down to New Zealand and Thailand.

Also, in Africa, women have been blazing trails, breaking barriers with their fiery female power, and exemplifying courage.  It is also a notable fact of history that in the past, Africa’s great women were celebrated as a part of our cultural norm, and indeed they were inspired through this practice to achieve a lot, and that is why our ancient mothers are being celebrated till date. But for the today’s women trail blazers, the reverse has become the case; women-achievers are unrecognized and sometimes relegated. This trend has remained counter-productive! It has therefore become very paramount and in fact, a matter of necessity for this culture to be revived, and I am, though a man taking it upon myself to join in igniting the revival of this productive ancient practice that has remained abandoned for an appreciable length of time.

It is difficult for women to advance much further if the achievements so far made by some of them are not appreciated. We must understand that naturally, women cherish appreciation!  Therefore, there is the need to make this practice a going-concern for them to have an ongoing opportunity to share inspirational stories about their careers and their vision, by the celebration of their triumphs, accomplishments and noble deeds.

In the light of the above, I am very passionate about celebrating our unsung African heroines, like Fatou Bensouda; the first woman and first African to head the International Criminal Court (ICC), and rated as one of the 10 most influential personalities in the world by Time Magazine, 2012 and the 4th most influential African according to the Jeune Afrique Magazine. No practice or programme of women empowerment can be more potent than the celebration of women’s achievements and inspiring stories about women, encouraging their successes and celebrating with them as they achieve their dreams. It is exciting, and really inspiring, motivating, capacity-building, as well as confidence-building. Through this, we all will be contributing in helping women out of poverty, help them gain a productive visibility within their communities and in the world at large. Through this, our present world attitudes filled with biased stereotypes about the woman will gradually go into extinction.

Also, the culture of promoting women’s accomplishments has an immense potential to boost the woman brand. All the world knows about today is the man and single story of his man-made world of achievement, thereby relegating the woman with all her history of noble legacies. By creating a buzz around women’s accomplishments and showing the world what women power and strengths are, we will be creating also a woman- brand that the society will recognize.

Letting society know what women’s accomplishments are, and what their talents and strengths are, will help them (women) to expand their network in the global scheme of events and activities. This network expansion will surely allow them to grow their presence within the global system and its institutions; an expansion that may lead them to new and different possibilities within the world system and in the main raising their capabilities.

Also, sharing the great strengths and talents of women with all in the society will attract other women who need those strengths and talent. This benefit is like a boomerang.

It is important also to understand the principle of Positive Momentum. The biggest benefit we receive when we celebrate someone’s accomplishment is the positive energy that it will generate for the person which makes that person to do more good things by his or her confidence. When for example, we take the time to celebrate, a person; we are telling that person and others that the work and energy exerted to accomplish that task was worth it. By this we toast the achievers’ successes. This positive momentum will allow those achievers to continue on to the next set of challenges and opportunities ahead, raising their energy with the passion that their accomplishments bring. It is therefore important to inspire women- achievers and create a positive momentum that will energize and excite them to reaching new levels of success. Success breeds success. By celebrating we are not just recognizing the accomplishments of the past, but we are preparing them and ourselves for the challenges ahead.

These benefits are certainly well worth the small effort it takes to celebrate our women’s accomplishments. Even by mere reviewing the smallest of accomplishments, one raises an achiever’s energy level which aids in allowing them to move ahead in a positive and purposeful way. Celebrating milestones is a valuable opportunity for everyone, every society, group or organization. By not strongly celebrating the important milestones, women miss a golden opportunity to rekindle their valuable visibility in public.

Even in ordinary life situation, we often see businesses; organizations or groups focus their budgets on communicating successes to the public through lead generation messages. It is really refreshing to acknowledge people for their contributions; taking a break to celebrate their achievements. It motivates, and it is a great way to make more great things happen, and when it becomes an internalized practice by especially, gender-based groups, it usually a viable way of meeting the strategic objective of women empowerment across societies and nations.

Consequently, celebrating the achievements of women recognizes that peace and progress require the active participation and equality of women, and acknowledges the contribution of women to international peace, progress and security. And part of it is about raising the aspirations and ambitions of women and girls, so they can maximize their potentials.

We might think that women’s equality benefits mostly women, but that is not true. Every one percent of growth in female empowerment results in an appreciable growth in the global economy and society. Women like Fatou Bensouda, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and the first African and first woman ever to hold this top position; amazing, powerful and inspiring have shown what heights women can scale in the world, only if they dream and work for it. She is one of the biggest names in the international scene. She has been named among the few most powerful and influential people in the 21st century by well respected and celebrated sources. She has made international headlines and has thus brought the potentials that abound in women to a stronger global focus.

Now, let's look at history. For millennia, women have been in the forefront, struggling and strategizing for a better humanity, yet, they are not being given the fair treatment which they deserve in both public and private lives. On daily basis, they spend stress-filled, anxious hours envisioning a day when they would enjoy the rights all human being or persons should have. On this note, I pose a question to the world in the parlance of Susan B. Anthony; Are Women Persons? I think, the right answer should be yes, they are persons, in fact, greater than all other persons. The woman is everybody’s first teacher, and apart from God, she is the next creator of all human creatures. Let us all honor them, and give them their rightful place in society, and let gender justice be the order of the day! Giving them their due place is the smartest we can do, to have a peaceful global system, because; No Woman, No Peace. I therefore debunk the late Bob Marley's reggae theme; no woman, no cry, and if I have the opportunity, I will charge him with a post-humous gross gender abuse!