Women of Quintessence

Dear loving people,

It’s taken me time but I just have to address this point today than later especially as I am working on a book with the same tittle. To begin with, I must emphasize my strong conviction that “Women’s rights are human rights.” As clearly stated by the Beijing conference on women twenty years ago. But two decades after what some call the most progressive plan ever for advancing women’s rights, what's really changed? The international community is still battling with two problems in today’s world: gender inequality and poverty. The fact that some see these two issues as separate obscures their inherent relationship. New research has shown that decreasing the gender gap in a society is an acutely effective way to lift a developing nation such as Cameroon out of poverty. The fight for gender equality is much more than a fight for women’s rights— it is a fight for humanity and human rights around the world.

Women, a sector of society routinely oppressed, are often stricken to the confines of domestic labor and young marriages especially in Africa. Among many of the problems associated with this cycle of disempowerment is a higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS and high child mortality. But honestly, and I must say honestly, some women have become a major problem to other women. One is really getting tired of this whole wrong approach to the fight for women’s rights, access to land for women etc. I know there are inequalities, I know it will take time for the world to be a level playground for all but behold! Let women take their own destinies in to their hands and not hide behind this extremist women’s emancipation stuff – they complain about all and nothing. As an example, I don’t know of a single woman, who’s educated, has the requisite qualification and refused a job because she is a woman. Neither do I know of a woman who’s got the money to purchase a piece of land and has been refused that right. Come on!

Women should take the lead in investing in their own education as the most powerful way out. The education of women, affords worlds of opportunity for developing countries. Today, 70% of the world’s uneducated youth are girls. 90% of women’s wages will be reinvested in their family, whereas only 30%-40% of men’s income will end up serving the family. Even just a year more of education can boost a women’s wages by 25%. So, what’s holding back women from accessing quality education that will make them more powerful? Rather than resign to complaining daily, why not use that energy to go for existing opportunities with all your might? You have the right and possibility of creating new opportunities too. Some women, the hard ones, those I call women of quintessence are making it, they are being rewarded for the difference they make while a whole lot of others, spoil people’s good moments with frivolous and recurrent complains.

Have women finally made it in the workforce? Well, yes and no. Yes, because hard working women in most countries have the same chance of success as their hard working men, think of the women heading many UN agencies, CEOs of giant multinational corporations, heads of states, parliamentarians, senators, ministers and you name the rest. If all they did was complain, they will not be where they are. If one woman can become a Minister, why not any other woman too?

So my dear women? You have the exact same chances as men. All you have to do is work as hard as the men do. You do work hard right? Great but equally realize that everyone's lives are different? Women have equality of opportunity. But because not all make the same choices, they do not yet have equality of outcome, measured in terms of the percentage of Ministers, CEOs, Board Directors, Parliamentarians and Billionaires who are female. Since women are unlikely to ever make the same choices as men, equality of outcome will hardly ever happen, contrary to the wishes of many feminist groups.

It’s sad to talk about it but you need to take a critical look at what happens in Cameroon during celebrations marking the international women’s day. Women go extremes engaging in excesses and all sorts of atrocities not to mention recurrent adulterous acts? Is that emancipation? Why can’t such women rather put hands on deck to see how all of them especially young women can get educated to the point where nobody will refuse them the right to a salary and sundry? Do you know that if only 1/3 of the energy used in complaining and engaging in such ephemeral activities is put into transformative action, Women will achieve a hundredfold?

The good news is that irrespective of all, I must tell you as a woman of quintessence, you are valuable to God 24/7 and that’s what matters. In Psalm 139:13-14, I read “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…) Has it occurred to you that this verse is not gender specific? Woman! Your works are wonderful. I know that fully well. God created you. That means you were divinely designed. You are His Designer Original. Wonderful. Valuable. Precious and priceless.

So I pray! Heavenly Father, we all have challenges accepting our worth when we rely on the opinions, words and actions of others. Even culture tries to diminish our value. Even within our own families there are struggles to be accepted for who we are. That is why we choose to rely in you Heavenly Father, so that through your begotten son Jesus Christ, you may give us the peace and assurance to know that each of us irrespective of gender is valuable to You. Teach us to let that truth be enough. Amen!