Is it possible to celebrate Women’s Month without acknowledging the women who have radically transformed this world we live in? We see them every day, we hear about their feats and accomplishments yet, it rarely impresses on us the magnitude of their efforts. Out of the many nameless and unsung heroes, only a few have been recognised.
Why is this so? Why are they segregated? Why are they oppressed? Why are they expected to conform to standards they do not benefit from? Why are women expected to speak, talk or dress a certain way? Is the idea of female empowerment so scary?
Throughout history, women have been expected to downplay their abilities, diminish their narratives, and disregard their involvement in their own history. Just because history has forgotten them does not mean we should. We need to educate ourselves, we owe it to us and them, and we should start by answering the following questions.
What if Queen Amina had settled for being a pampered princess?
What if Rosa Parks had stood up for the white passenger on the segregated bus in Alabama?
What if Coretta Scott King had decided to be a meek house wife and stayed at home to cater solely to her family?
What if Harriet Tubman had minded her own business and continued picking cotton in peace?
The foundation these women laid paved the way for the likes of Folorunsho Alakija, Dame Virginia Ngozi Etiaba, Aisha Alhassan, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, to name a few. But these are today’s heroines, now, it is time for a new generation of heroines. What values we will teach them? Who will be their role models? How will we empower them?
According to James Brown, it is a man’s world, but it is NOTHING without a woman.
Why do I just like the way you write? I think it is time for WOMEN to lead the revolution that will lead to the recognition of more WOMEN for their contribution to history. And you can start the revolution, my dear!