We Fight For An Equal Treatment With Men, But What Happens When ....

Enviado por Sandra Navarro el Jue, 2007-05-17 04:21.

Women fight for everything we believe: for our families, our kids, our believes, and our political differences. We do it with passion, with love and with that miracle "SIX SENSE" we have. But what happens when that fight is not just for getting an equal treatment between genders? What happens when the fight is between us (women)? How many times we haven’t been victims of ourselves? i.e., going for a job interview and being discriminated for our age (we need a woman between 18 – 25 years old. Does that mean that women in my age 37 are not capable?), for our race (if the job is for a front desk someone has to be white and blonde), for our looks (just to complete the last condition "good looking" doesn’t matter if s girl has no manners or highly qualified skills).

We have to get over our own issues before we start thinking about getting an equal treatment between men and women. I found in my husband my soulmate, my support, my partner in crime, the person makes grown in every single aspect of my life as a mother, as a friend, as a woman.

Let’s forget about that the selfish word “rivalry". Our roads have to merge into one junction regardless our religion, our race, and our age. Sometimes we find that men are our best ally and women our worst enemies.

I don’t see myself fighting against a woman for anything. My nature tells me to be her friend, her support, her helper, so let’s get together and fulfill our rights and obligations.

Tags:

Comments

Do women help other women when they are elected?

Enviado por bsalimova el Lun, 2007-06-25 14:16.

It is interesting to read Sandra's comment about rivalry existing among women. I have just came across an interesting article Discerning Causality in Women Empowerment by Avantika Regmi. The article describes the history of women's empowerment in Asia and analyzes whether the women leaders in Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India strived for women's empowerment at the grassroots level. Unfortunately, the author did not find any correlation between having powerful women at the top echelon of politics and the empowerment of women at the grassroots level.

Is it that women simply don't support each when elected or appointed or that they don't have the means to do so? Should women leaders be afraid of having female colleagues or should they bring in more women into politics to create support bases for their policies and agendas?

Do women in power have enough awareness of what is needed?

Enviado por Solange el Lun, 2007-06-25 19:53.

Hey!! I've been reading your comments. As young women in politics I have experienced the limited importance some women in power keep to the women political participation. Some times it is because they just don't care about it and they just hired members of their teams because of what they need: people with experience in lobbying, public relations, etc... unfortunatelly not much of women have had the opportunity to be in a position to gain those skills and that experience as a consequence they are not "qualified" to be a member of the team... it is a vicious circle with no end.

Second reason is that some women know by their own experiences how difficult is to be, first a candidate and later in an elected position, and for some of them, other women have to pass for the same ways to be there. They fill not obligated to help other women because nobody helped them during their difficult moments.

Third reason, is jelaousy. Sometimes it is difficult to help or to hire somebody that, apparently, have more knowledge about politics, or maybe is more carismathic and could have more attention than you in the media or during lobbying.

Of course no of those reason is a rule, but in my experience those are the most important ones that makes women not to help their pairs. We need to educate them, specially to unify their efforts and show them how important for all is to include more women in elected political positions, just to have a different point of view.

As some of you may know I'm starting a political center in Mexico, where we are going to develop some programs related to this but specially for young women. That's all for now, thank you all for your comments, which are very useful for my daily work.

Sincerly,

Solange Márquez E.

Women in Leadership in Elections

Enviado por AdaMark Ogbole el Mié, 2007-05-23 12:23.

I have read with keen interest how women can be gingered to speak about their worries which should be trated as global. This is my first contribution and believe me it is intriguing to know how much as women we yearn for change in the present situation we find ourselves. I write as one who has been on both side of standing for an elective position and an organizer of elections. I joined politics at 25 going 26years of age and at 26 won an election into Nigeria Federal House of Representatives in 1992, many years down the line I became an electoral commisioner in Benue State Electoral commission and I see very little had change with women in politics. I must admit there has been more awareness of both the essence and stake involved in politics in Nigeria but I must state also that men have carefully schemed women out of active and elective post leaving next to nothing for them. Politics in Nigeria has become more and more characterized by high level of violence which has kept more women at bay.The problem as was in 1992 and as it is today shows that women who desire to be in elective posts must be more determined in their quest that no amount of intimidation can deter them. Any woman in an elective post in Nigeria would tell of the high level of intimidation by her male counterpart. What this does is to try to make men out of the women which I believe defeats the purpose. Women in being determined must remain women, it is the difference we bring into politics that makes it whole. Often women chose to become men in women skin. It is the emotions, the tears,and different perspective associated with womanhood that we need to bring to bear.
Another problem is mentoring, once women win elections they become aloof to other women and on the part of women association, they distance themselves from these women in power. The elected women need to groom other women to aspire and even sponsor since finance is one of the major obstacles in women participation. On the other hand women organizations need to give these women the support base required to excel.
As we desire to see more women in decision making positions it is important for women to organize themselves more, utilize or maximize our population, only then can we get not only the desired number but the desired effect. We must keep the fire burning, doing otherwise would be a disservice to our daughters unborn.
AdaMark Ogbole
Co- Ordinator
Gender & Peace Initiative.
Box 2080, Makurdi, Benue State,Nigeria
gender_pi@yahoo.com