Women Empowerment: a myth debunked by women

I call it a myth or fairy-tale if you prefer because it is a subject that is full of lovely pictures and promises yet most often stifled by the main characters of the story!

Courtesy: Daily Times

I particularly like an article written by Shaikh Abdul Rasheed for Daily Times titled: “Women Empowerment: A distant dream”. He mentions the importance of women taking up leadership and peacemaking roles if more women are to be liberated and empowered to access their rights. But he emphasizes the need for these representational women to be self-determined to make a difference. For example, In Pakistan, although women are given an appropriate representation in the National Assembly, it is just symbolic rather than effective. They have never been seen to take a firm stand against gender disparity or violence against women.

A mother-in-law is the greatest judge of her son’s wife and sets unrealistic, unattainable benchmarks for the young lady to surmount before she can be deserving of an embrace or accolade. She plans a visit to the young couple’s home after the wife just had a baby, yet she awaits a 5-star hotel service from a healing new mother. And guess what? She constantly tells the young wife that she is helping her become strong and empowered. What a fallacy! What happened to just embracing and accepting her with her short comings and helping her rise above them?

A female boss is the most unsympathetic towards the plight of working moms because she thinks she is better than they can ever be. Oh yeah, she has her shit together. Attended good schools, got a good job and is in a leading role; but those female subordinates must have been loafing around while she hustled (how ridiculous)! She constantly calls them out and turns a deaf ear to their plea for support or empathy. Yet she regularly attends Women Empowerment Conferences and anchors conversations on women being heard or valued by men, allowed in leading positions, given equal pay, maternity leave and so on. But she hypocritically refuses to assist her female colleagues or subordinates in drawing up a workable schedule that ensures a healthy work-life balance. You wonder if they are stricken with bitterness or malignity!

A woman runs for public office but is more booed by female members of public because they absurdly believe that she belongs home with her husband and kids and shouldn’t be found wrestling with men! The last I checked, executing the role of a public office servant, whether Councilor, Senator, Governor, President or even becoming a CEO requires some good sense not muscles! A female contestant is viewed as ambitious (not in a good way), emotionless, irresponsible and unbecoming simply because she dared to walk the path that other women only dream of.

So I say…enough is enough talkative, no-action women! Enough with the judgments, slander, curses, envy and repudiation. If you cannot support your kind, how do you expect men (who are from planet Mars by the way) to support and foster your empowerment course?

Courtesy: Sanwari

Make an effort today to encourage that female counterpart beside you. That is a major way the fairy-tale of ‘Women Empowerment’ can become a reality.