ARE WOMEN REALLY VULNERABLE?

'Majority of our society's problems are man-made, leaving the power to solving them in our hands. But before a problem becomes an issue, advocates must first place it on the agenda of those actors who have the power to solve it.' - This is the preamble upon which I salute the achievements of women, the world over.

In recent years, a conception of vulnerability based on assumed biological factors rather than social, has sort to create the erroneous impression that women are vulnerable. But this assertion is empirically problematic, and I believe it would do women themselves a world of good if they rejected this tag.

There is this patriarchal falsehood that, women are biologically inferior and therefore men use the word 'vulnerable' to promote that. The reality is that females are not biologically inferior, nor inherently vulnerable. Assuming without admitting that women are vulnerable; it is because men are viciously domineering, and not because women are inherently vulnerable.

Evolutionary psychologists also claim that we are all imprinted with adaptive imperatives from a distant past: men are faster and stronger and hardwired to fight for scarce resources, and that shows up now as a drive to win on Wall Street; women are programmed to find good providers and to care for their offspring, and that is manifested in more nurturing and more flexible behavior, ordaining them to domesticity. This kind of thinking is not only of the stone-age era; but also abhorrent, weird and counter-productive. Fact is, men will always use such terms as 'vulnerable' to define women in order to maintain male hegemony over their female counterparts.

Vulnerability is basically a state of being weak and defenseless, easily hurt physically or emotionally. And I sincerely think that, naturally; all human beings by this definition are susceptible one way or the other. I am therefore of the humble opinion that, the interpretation of vulnerability must be; one's ability to either resist, or flee danger - physically or emotionally.

In this regard; 'until, and unless one is unable to naturally perform an activity, using any part of the body as a result of a mal-function of that part - including the brain (cognitive vulnerability), that person ought not to be considered vulnerable'. Adult women without disabilities, of course, do not fall into this category. The word vulnerable should be used to refer only to children and those who actually are vulnerable (disability/ illness).

For example, there have been numerous civil wars on the continent of Africa and elsewhere in the world. And anytime those wars occur, we see on our screens; men, women, children, and even the elderly carry their luggage across borders to neighboring countries for safety. Can anyone sincerely tell me if they also see the disabled carry their luggage across these borders as well? If no, then where do they go? It's no gainsaying the roles some women and even children play in these wars because, some women and children are actually combatants.

Juxtaposing that with Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in times of war, we on the other hand cannot take part in those wars in the first place, neither can we defend ourselves nor flee. Therefore when it comes to interpreting the term vulnerability; I believe PWDs, children and the elderly should be classified as such, exclusive of adult women without disabilities.

'Women must shake themselves off the past and into the present.' They must come alive, stand proud and refuse to be counted among the vulnerable. Reason is simple; women are surpassing men on any number of fronts, and have even made it to the top and now wield power in the worlds of business and politics which hitherto, remained but a dream. Women are systematically and sustainably breaking all bonds and boundaries in the socio-politico-economic arena, thus; defying all odds and gradually taking over the once-man's-world.

The cliché that; 'unlike men, women couldn't rely on their natural instincts to compel them to grab opportunities when they presented themselves, has now been proven wrong with the passage of time. Women these days are getting 'selected and elected,' and are 'balancing work and family.'

Gone are the days when men had absolute control over the world's wealth, and considered women as being slyly parasitic, enjoying an indifferent domesticity - especially in Africa.

The hard fact these days is; demographics of the world have changed in the process of time, providing opportunity for more women to take up leadership roles. And believe it or not, they are now making as much, if not more, than men. This has invariably brought about a significant increase in the frequency of wives earning more than their husbands, - and have now even taken men's place as main 'breadwinner,' especially in conventional homes.

I am profoundly proud especially of African women who have made remarkable progress in both emancipation and empowerment. In the past few years for example, we have seen a few women take on the mantle of leadership in the political arena at the highest level. There are for instance, women presidents in Liberia and Malawi.

There are also women in charge of key ministries in some African countries: Mrs. Justice Theodora Georgina Wood is the Chief Justice of Ghana, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the minister of Finance of Nigeria; Lina Moholo is the central governor of the Bank of Bostwana and last but not the least, Mrs. Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong is the Attorney-General of Ghana.

The world has also produced some powerful women rulers such as the legendary Yaa Asantewaa, Cleopatra (the last Pharaoh of Egypt), Catherine the Great of Russia, Margaret Thatcher of England, Empress Suito of Japan etc.

Therefore if conditions and opportunities for women have improved at all, then it's because there was a conscious effort through a sustained struggle to improve them - and that struggle became possible when sexism and discrimination were recognized, faced and confronted.

This feat could not have been achieved if women were inherently vulnerable like men would want to make the world believe. I am also of the firm belief that issues of disability - which is dear to my heart, would be ably taken care of, when women eventually take control of the Committee of Nations. After all when children are born with disabilities, the so-called men are the ones who run away and abandon them, leaving the mothers and these children to their fate.

I will at this point say a very big AYIKOO to our women folks, and edge them to opt out of the group of vulnerable people, which for me is equivalent to HIPC nations. Your continuous acceptance of the status of vulnerability is not only demeaning, but also makes nonsense of all the huge successes women have been able to achieve in the last few years.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY IN ADVANCE TO ALL WOMEN.
Gab Norgah - Ghana Society of the Physically Challenged (Koforidua-New Juaben).

0208125785 / 0547734007.