by Eric Blair |
Double standards |
The term feminism has finally found its way into developing countries however has the message found its way? We discuss here to find out. For those who have lived in several continents and countries around the world, you don’t only hear about things going on in other parts of the world but also experience them from time to time depending on the new location you find yourself.
Feminism as it is known in the UK for instance is very much different from how it is known in developing countries like in this case, Nigeria. When you walk into a room here in Nigeria to discuss about feminism and the need for equal rights, the first thing you hear people talk about is cooking and domestic chores. That is where the discussion starts and that is where it ends. However domestic chores are the least of the problems when it comes to feminism which you would expect to be obvious but apparently the message wasn’t clearly delivered in these parts.
Feminism is basically the belief in equality, for economic and social rights. For instance, a woman working as hard as man in a firm occupying similar positions should be paid equally as the men occupying similar roles and doing as much work. That is one of the main goals of feminism. Furthermore, if a man has the right to become whoever he wants to be, a woman should have those right too, and if a woman wants to work rather than be a house wife, she has the right to do so too. However, in these parts, all the less enjoyable aspects of feminism take a back seat to only the enjoyable aspects that stop a woman from working hard.
For instance, many ladies here only know feminism to be “no need to do domestic chores anymore”, however, the aspect of feminism regarding a woman also working as hard as a man to earn equal pay doing a similar job, is thrown out the window. As you guessed, this is because it actually involves doing some work. So in other words, she doesn’t believe she should do domestic chores anymore, and she doesn’t want to work hard outside the home.
They say gender roles are changing which is rightfully so, however, these women want the male roles to remain exactly the same as it was before. You see a guy cooking and cleaning and a woman in the room would be the first to leave comments like “lazy man, your mates are outside making money and you are here”. The end result is a woman who doesn’t want to work at home and in the labour market.
For instance, before society began to change and evolve, a house wife would usually wait for her husband to buy her gifts and spend his earnings on her but with feminism now, women are thought to belief that rather than hoping to end up with a rich man, the movement is pushing hard to make sure you can now work hard, to be able to afford all the things you fancy without needing the help of a man. But here, only the aspects that relieve a woman from doing some work are accepted. So a man is still expected to bring the money home, still expected to buy her fancy stuff, still expected to do all the “manly” stuff men are expected to do, however, she is not ready to actually do some work to bring in some income and if she’s actually working too, her income is her money and her partners income is “our” money.
For instance, many ladies here only know feminism to be “no need to do domestic chores anymore”, however, the aspect of feminism regarding a woman also working as hard as a man to earn equal pay doing a similar job, is thrown out the window. As you guessed, this is because it actually involves doing some work. So in other words, she doesn’t believe she should do domestic chores anymore, and she doesn’t want to work hard outside the home.
They say gender roles are changing which is rightfully so, however, these women want the male roles to remain exactly the same as it was before. You see a guy cooking and cleaning and a woman in the room would be the first to leave comments like “lazy man, your mates are outside making money and you are here”. The end result is a woman who doesn’t want to work at home and in the labour market.
For instance, before society began to change and evolve, a house wife would usually wait for her husband to buy her gifts and spend his earnings on her but with feminism now, women are thought to belief that rather than hoping to end up with a rich man, the movement is pushing hard to make sure you can now work hard, to be able to afford all the things you fancy without needing the help of a man. But here, only the aspects that relieve a woman from doing some work are accepted. So a man is still expected to bring the money home, still expected to buy her fancy stuff, still expected to do all the “manly” stuff men are expected to do, however, she is not ready to actually do some work to bring in some income and if she’s actually working too, her income is her money and her partners income is “our” money.
A man in a society who is jobless, lazy and not motivated to achieve anything in life is often viewed as a “waste of space” by many people in the society today regardless of gender. On the other hand, we have women who don’t want to work to earn enough to fend for themselves, and also do not want to do domestic chores using feminism as an excuse. So what do we have here?
Similar to the analogy of the jobless man earlier, we have a “waste of space”. I am all in support of equality especially when it comes to work, and I believe a woman occupying a similar position, working just as hard as anyone, should be paid equally because it all comes down to the results in business and she brings in the results. However for a woman who is a selective feminist, she would most likely end up as a waste of space because she would be lacking in many areas. Going back to the old gender roles, she won’t be able to hold a candle to the women of the former age, and moving into the future she won’t be able to hold a candle to the modern woman who realised that she also has to work hard rather than look for hand-outs because of her gender.
Feminism is not a cover for laziness, and you can only benefit from equal opportunities when you are ready to seize the opportunities available but when you choose to only accept the aspects that reduce the workload of a woman, you will end up lacking the skills to be considered a woman of the former age or the woman of the modern age. Furthermore, gender roles are changing and this is not just the “typical” female gender role.
For instance, if a woman earns more than her husband and she has advanced further in terms of career development, when children are born and someone has to quit. It would be much more sensible for the husband to quit so he can take care of the children, from a financial perspective. In the end, money is mostly over everything and she brings in the most cash. As a result, he will most likely end up as a house husband even if it’s just for a while unless they want to leave their kids to be destitute. These are the kind of gender role changes the women in these parts still do not want to accept, and not accepting this shows that you are no true feminist. Please leave your comments below as I would like to know your thoughts on the issue. Cheers.
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Similar to the analogy of the jobless man earlier, we have a “waste of space”. I am all in support of equality especially when it comes to work, and I believe a woman occupying a similar position, working just as hard as anyone, should be paid equally because it all comes down to the results in business and she brings in the results. However for a woman who is a selective feminist, she would most likely end up as a waste of space because she would be lacking in many areas. Going back to the old gender roles, she won’t be able to hold a candle to the women of the former age, and moving into the future she won’t be able to hold a candle to the modern woman who realised that she also has to work hard rather than look for hand-outs because of her gender.
Feminism is not a cover for laziness, and you can only benefit from equal opportunities when you are ready to seize the opportunities available but when you choose to only accept the aspects that reduce the workload of a woman, you will end up lacking the skills to be considered a woman of the former age or the woman of the modern age. Furthermore, gender roles are changing and this is not just the “typical” female gender role.
For instance, if a woman earns more than her husband and she has advanced further in terms of career development, when children are born and someone has to quit. It would be much more sensible for the husband to quit so he can take care of the children, from a financial perspective. In the end, money is mostly over everything and she brings in the most cash. As a result, he will most likely end up as a house husband even if it’s just for a while unless they want to leave their kids to be destitute. These are the kind of gender role changes the women in these parts still do not want to accept, and not accepting this shows that you are no true feminist. Please leave your comments below as I would like to know your thoughts on the issue. Cheers.
More: The countries with the highest percentage of internet users
More: Why you should go for a swim regularly