Sometimes it amazes me how little people know or understand the concept of gender equality. It's suche a pity that gender studies have not been included anywhere in the official Kenyan curiculum.
Now before you start to roll your eyes and think that you know what i'm going to say, i urge you to hold your horses if only for a while.
Gender has nothing to do with sex.
Gender actually refers to the role that men and women have been allocated within the sosciety, while sex is determined by biology, i.e. as i read it recently, what is contained in your underpants.
Gender equality.
When we speak about gender equality we are actually simply saying that, both the roles of men and women within the society need to be recognised as equally important in their own right. A simple example. That housework be recognised as a real job, just like going to the office to do a white collar job or even going to work with your hands as a juakali artisan or artist does.
Women and men can never compete with each other on an equal footing. It's a fact. Our biology does determine not what we can do, but what we can do better.
This is the most important aspect to grasp, because if women try to compete with men at who can be a better man, our achievements will definately pale in comparison. Not because we are less, but because we are better at something else.
This goes beyond the issue of gender to even ordinary duties. If I as an individual compete with someone whos strength is my weakness, i will without a doubt not do as well as they will.
It's a glorious thing to be a woman, both biologically and with regard to my gender.
And being a home-maker does not, under any cicumstances make me less of a professional or a career woman. It simply means that i reason differently, from a man as well as from my fellow women.
It really is about time, we took gender studies seriously so as to stop the flow of ignorant conversation going around.
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