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Women must stand up and prove their worth
The Herald
March 10, 2004

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=29811&pubdate=2004-03-10

The only people who can fully liberate the oppressed are the oppressed themselves.

This is what should stick in the minds of all Zimbabwean women, particularly those in the workplace, who consider themselves to be in a male territory.

Whilst all odds may be against the woman because of the patriarchal system of management that is deeply rooted in most working environments, women should strive to work towards becoming masters of their own destiny.

Instead of whining over being relegated to second class ranks, the onus is on women to stand up and prove their worth.

Gender is not only about women. And yet women are using the gender discourse as protection from their own shortcomings.

Most women have actually misconstrued the real sense and genuine meaning of gender; they think it means preferential treatment for them.

Discrimination in workplaces still exists in a very big way and when activists lobby around gender, it is merely about consideration, recognition and analysis of the social positioning of both men and women and how institutionalised masculine structures tend to militate against women who form the majority of the population.

Recognition of women does not mean that women will rise to top management positions without sweating for it. Promotion must be on merit.

If structures that stifle women’s efforts to rise to the top were constructed using men, then it is possible for women to use their power to strip down the very same structures that work negatively against them.

And for this to happen, women have to garner willpower and support. They have to believe in themselves.

However, without active participation by women themselves to bring changes to their own circumstances, legislative changes may not mean anything at all.

The launching of the National Gender Policy on International Women’s Day is a milestone in the emancipation of Zimbabwean women.

The policy will be a guideline that will ensure that equity and equality is maintained in all spheres of the economy, particularly in the workplace where gender desks will be established.

But this policy can only be effective for as long as women are empowered to see potential in themselves so they can be ready to confront challenges.

Women give all sorts of excuses that demonstrate their unpreparedness, yet this is a quality that is necessary if women are to fight and win over patriarchal tendencies.

Doing an extra mile, though difficult, can be a sign of preparedness. It is a sacrifice.

Women should positively look at their unharnessed power and ability to change the status quo and this entails an open mind, willingness to both learn and work hard.

There is also need for women to support each other in their effort to fight discriminatory tendencies.

There, however, has been a positive development lately where younger women have started garnering support for each other.

This is because they have realised that if one woman succeeds, she will assist others follow up the ladder of success.

It would be folly for women to believe that, even where there is affirmative action, things are bound to roll their way without them working hard to the top.

It is time for women to rise up to the challenges and stop mourning or pitying themselves.

Hiding behind cultural barriers and societal pressures is no longer an excuse and women should face competition head on.

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