OMOTOLA-JALADE SAYS NO/YES TO GENDER EQUALITY

Gender Equality sign//Photo Credit: Wikimedia.com

Gender equality has been a theory struggle that occupies the mind of both the dumb and shrewd for inveterate years … many people fought for it, while some are still fighting for it and against the ideology. Out of the struggle for gender equality emanated a theory or ideology called feminism. Feminism is a theory that argues or fights for the equal right of men and women. The question feminism created indirectly is; can we ever have equality between men and women? This question happens to produce chorus answers in the world today. Some say we can attain equality between men and women by allowing women handle the responsibilities a man is by nature assigned to carry out; others claim we cannot attain equality because religiously, God created a woman out of one rib from a man, Adam. Personally, I think for us to attain equality between every man and woman on earth, then, we need to have gotten to that Utopian state in our government. In other words, feminism and gender equality can be achieved only in a Utopian state, where everything is orderly without any fault what-so-ever.

Omotola and son in a Photo-shoot Credit: Wikimedia

Consequently, when you hear a person shouting in the hall-way in the dark, advocating for equality between men and women, or when you read up a piece in the newspaper/magazine about how government is lagging in implementing a gender equality, your guess will be that that is a woman talking. In other words, it is hard to find a lady who is not advocating for gender equality or who does not belong to the school of thought of the feminist. However, a popular Nigerian/veteran actress, Omotola-Jalade Ekeinde shares her view on what gender equality mean or on how a man should be treated. Excerpts below:

“I don’t believe in gender equality. I do not believe that God made man and woman to be equal in any way. I believe that in every organized institution, there is always a head and an assistant. It doesn’t mean that one should take the other for granted, or disrespect the other. I believe the husband is the head of the home and the wife is an assistant. My husband is a pilot, I have flown with him several times and I understood that here is a captain and a co-pilot. They are both responsible for the passengers’ lives. But when there is a final decision to make, it is up to the captain to make it. He is more experienced and the one with the responsibility.”

“When there is a quarrel, I usually apologise first. He doesn’t say sorry. Overtime, I have come to realise that it is an ego problem. Even when he knows he is wrong, he will rather do every other thing or buy things for me than say, ‘I’m sorry.’ Fortunately, the ‘sorrys’ are not too many. He is very responsible and more hardworking than me. By God’s grace, we have been able to understand our routine.” End of excerpt.

Conclusively, We can only try to achieve/implement gender equality by creating for every human a level playing ground that elects, appoints, disappoint, imprison, employ, dismiss, etc. anybody be it a man or woman.

Richard Oluseye Anthony

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