Gender does not mean women

BY GRACE CHIRUMANZU


Each time I introduce myself as a gender reporter to male sources, they eventually see a “FEMINIST” tag stuck on my forehead and pour their grievance down on me, accusing women of abusing the word gender to mean female alone.
They see a 23-year-old woman who advocates for women empowerment over their male counterparts; a threat to the African cultural statusquo where men are the head of the house and society at large.
By definition gender reporting refers to balanced media coverage of both men and women in society. It is a campaign on gender equality.
But this has for long been a subject overlooked by media organization in Africa because of men’s dominance in various media organization.
In pre-colonial Africa, women were “naturally the weaker sex” as African author Wole Soyinka expresses in the play “The Lion and the Jewel.”
A girl was born powerless than a boy child. They grew up to live a life devoid of their own independence, depending on their brothers and fathers in a family and eventually their husbands when married.
Because of societal expectations the boy child appeared to have been born with a sixth sense that gave them the “divine and legal right” to have power over girls.
But the modern life has seen girls and women popping out of the nutshell to shine their light in their families, society and countries at large.
2009 saw Zimbabwe appointing its first woman Deputy Prime Minister in Thokozani Kuphe and Vice President in Joyce Mujuru. The country’s swimming sensation, Kirsty Coventry, has lifted Zimbabwe’s flag high at international arena.
South African athlete Caster Semenya, carved her name in the athletics circles when she won a gold medal in the women's 800 metres at the 2009 World Athletics Championships with a time of 1:55.45.
It is these women’s successes that motivate other potential women leaders to shackle off the chains of gender discrimination and shine their way to stardom. But along with their success comes the demeaning chauvinistic criticism such that Semenya’s competitive spirit of setting commendable records in the athletics fraternity is deemed unbefitting of a woman.
This has a pulling down effect to the women role models and a pounding consequence to the aspiring stars on the rise.
Women have lived for long under the dominance of their opposite sex and men should not feel threatened when introduced to the subject; gender equality. One needs not to be anti-men to be pro-women.
Women empowerment does not mean men automatically lose the respect of their wives, respect is earned through a person’s behavior and interaction with others in society and not because of gender.
Women empowerment means encouraging and supporting women to free the stars trapped in them It is simply putting an end to the inferiority complex that is instilled in the girl child at birth.
Standing up for gender equality does not only mean advocating for the rise of women (or men) to stand up for what they should be but it also means the tolerance of those flying high to accept that those below them deserve a share of oxygen to fly up there.

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