Stand Up and Be Counted

You! Yes you, not the person behind you. I am speaking to you.

Are you surprised that I am speaking to you? Why, because you are female? 

You are surprised that I am asking you to lean in, to play your part?

Don't tell me you are thinking, ''I am just a girl.''

Is that so? You think I should speak to the boys. You think that these sort of opportunities should only be given to male folk? You accept that females are largely ignored and you believe the lie that we should just take the passenger seat? You really believe that our role in life is to support from behind, to be seen and not heard, to be the neck holding the 'head' up. To be in the living room, kitchen and the other room only. You really believe all that?

Well, let me tell you that you mustn't think like that. You are more than a passenger. 

You can be more. 

You should be more. 

You have the right to be more even though everyone tells you that you can't because you are female. 

Why settle to be a passenger, when you have what it takes to be the pilot of your destiny? You are made to have a positive impact on lives, your community and the world. Please don't settle for less.

You are smiling at me. Do you think that I am lying to you? 

Ok. Look around you. Many women around the world are standing up and being counted. Let me just name a few of our kind that are making an impact on the world in our era.

I will start with Linda Ikeji. You know her right? Yes, she is that self-made media mogul who has created jobs for thousands of young Nigerians. People have tried to pull her down, they have tried to reduce her success to nothing because she isn't married. People make out that marriage is the ultimate achievement of women. That isn't true, marriage is not an accomplishment, it is a choice.

Let's move on swiftly to Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist partly responsible for ending the conflict in Liberia. What about Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of Liberia or Aung San Suu Kyi, a female activist, jailed for speaking out and who now leads the National Democratic League party of Myanmar formerly known as Burma. 

Shall I go on?

No need?

You get the picture, right?

You are asking me about societal expectations for women? Oh! Do you mean what people say about women needing a man to protect them, men being the bread winner, women being demure, women's biggest achievement being marriage and all that?  

Never mind about those silly expectations. They are based on stereotypes. Stereotypes are social constructs intended to keep people chained to what others want them to be. Don't get me wrong, some social rules are important, in fact essential but some are based on useless and outdated myths and should be ignored. Some people largely benefit from maintaining the status quo and work hard to prevent change.  Don't be a prisoner to their myths and legends, break free. Challenge unfairness and discrimination, seek truth and don't let anyone keep you from being true to yourself and from realising your full potential.

You are worried that you might fail when you try? So what if that happens? 

You will learn from your failures about your  strengths like so many others before you. To never fail is to never learn. Embrace challenge, push the boundaries of your box. Therein lies the path to success and happiness.

Ok, I need to go now but I must say one last thing; Females are not second class citizens, we are first class too and we deserve the same access to opportunities as our male folk. We deserve to be treated with fairness and respect and you must believe this if you want to overcome prejudice and excel in your chosen path.

Always remember that.

See you later.

Written for Youandmeroundtable.com 

http://youandmeroundtable.com/stand-up-and-be-counted/

The Evils of Girl Child Marriage

Child marriage is child abuse. It is an injustice that deprives young girls of the chance of getting educated. Child marriage often results in the loss of the opportunity to realise a future as independent women who are in charge of their destinies.

Child marriage deprives the world of talent. Think about it, among the many child brides could be that person that would have discovered the cure for a particular disease or brokered peace deals between warring communities, and many could have gone on create solutions that would impact their communites for good. All that disappears with child marriage.

Child marriage in poor countries is the greatest contributing factor in a woman developing fistula. These injuries associated with child birth by children, result in the girls and women being ostracised from their communities because of their incontinence. These cases could be largely avoided if child marriage was stoped.

Child marriage is one of the factors that underpins gender discrimination.  Young girls who are married off as children are unlikely to get educated. Uneducated women typically don't know about their rights and even if they did, they would find it nigh impossible to assert those rights in their communities because they depend on others for survival. They can only survive by  remaining quiet.

Child marriage is theft, theft of possibilities  and opportunities that young girls could have. Unfortunately, this is the reality for many girls, but it doesn't have to continue. 

Let's stand together to say no to child marriage. Let us tell all the young girls we know that marriage is not the ultimate achievement. Encourage them to be more for themselves,  to aspire for excellence and use their natural talents to thrive and contribute to their communities.

Watch Run, a documentary on girl child marriage here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RUN.webmu