https://www.myjoyonline.com/julius-kwesi-hamenoo-writesa-blunt-look-at-issue-of-gender-inequality/-------https://www.myjoyonline.com/julius-kwesi-hamenoo-writesa-blunt-look-at-issue-of-gender-inequality/
Certainly, from a lofty standpoint, or is it rather a privileged position, we see and understand our social setup differently. Even from a forlorn condition, we still see and comprehend our social environment subjectively. Differences in the way we see and understand life and our world are not only peculiar to groups. It is originally so to individualized minds. Minds that process the presentation of the world out yonder and interpret it according to their individual understanding.  This is a peculiarity that is common to us all. Indeed that’s where the root of our perplexity starts. And it gets fueled and skewed towards a particular direction depending on the motive of the mind that carries it. Could it be why human beings traditionally have a plethora of perspectives about the same simple thing? Take the case of the values of our cultures for example. Something that is a taboo here is venerated elsewhere. The problem arises when one begins to share a subjective experience. Because it must reflect the way others see and feel about it too. So, same perspectives naturally gravitate towards each other and hope that their coalition will grow in numbers for their shared benefit.  This is where such a group could become encouraging or discouraging to others. And if they do not Institute some internally controlling mechanism to check their sway, they begin to develop into extremes, for good or bad. But the question is, when did all these viewpoints of superiority and inferiority begin to bring about inequality amongst human beings? How did we come to feel, as we came along, that anyone was superior or inferior to another?  In primitive times, one can imagine that before reasoning came to be vogued, physical strength and agility was required for survival and preservation. Those were needed to provide for and protect the self and the family. The strongest person could bully the weak and subdue them into slavery. And so that could be the basis for determining superiority by the conqueror. However, we cannot forget that even in those times mental fortitude and resilience were the hallmarks of our women.  Some cultures in those times even gave the most honourable sepulchre to their oldest women when they died, by eating them. Today we do same symbolically. Not to our oldest women but to our spiritual men? Nonetheless, if religion was the basis, by which these prejudices were determined, then it's convenient to assume that God decreed it so. Or is it the interpretation of what God may have revealed that is skewed to favour a particular group? Especially the group which is doing the interpretation?  What are the criteria for determining who a superior person is in our modern times? Is it still the size and strength of their body, or the quality of their brains? Is it not the case that humans beings considered themselves superior to animals because they could reason? It was believed that the inferior exist for the sake of the superior. Living things are more superior to non-living things. And among living things, the superior are those which have a reason.  Therefore among humans beings themselves what should be the yardstick for determining superiority, and for that matter, inequality?  Now, this is where the mess stems from. Are we humans or beings in the first place? Obviously, we are both. But part of us is more physical and the other part is substantially spiritual. We are more of one than the other. The littered graveyards around us should reveal so much to us in our sober reflections.  Are we just the material body that was dumped there? Or we are rather in the body as something else? Are our lives done with when we are put in the casket and buried? Could it be that the vehicle may be destroyed, but the driver still lives on?  It’s only with a profound understanding of what we are that could furnish us with the right answer to our place in existence.  At the deepest core of our being, we are all one and connected. We couldn’t be separated because that core dimension of us is indivisible. And from there we all receive our animation and sustenance.  However, when our comparisons spring from the conclusiveness of the core’s manifestation as material beings, it can only be a reflection of our delusional sense of intelligence. Then we are looking at ourselves from conceptualised mental perspectives.  Men and women are not the same or equal, in the sense that we look different. Everybody sees that. Not only do we see so, but we also hear and smell and taste and feel the difference as well.  Is that the basis from which we derived our inequality? I don’t think so. Neither could it be based on our positions and possessions.  That may be tantamount to the death of self and rise of the ego. A judgment that could be having its foundation on psychosis. For to think you are superior to another because of something that is not an integral part of you, can only mean one thing: ignorance.  Any man who would think himself superior to a woman because of his appearance and strength over her is a brute. Women do not compare themselves to men on the basis of physical features and strength. They see and know clearly the difference. The whole gender thing springs from the use of the brain. I want to suppose. Women are absolutely right when they assert and maintain that stand, that we are all equal. When it comes to the use of the brain, no gender can claim a monopoly over its proficiency.  The brain is the most important organ of our body. Several parts of the brain function differently. The conscious part, which is called the neocortex, with which we use to understand our environment, could be the least part of the whole brain. Our mad brethren, who may have lost the use of the conscious part, still have the function of the substantial parts of their brain intact. No study has shown that the use of men’s brain is commensurate with their muscles or body size. So that, the bigger the body of a man, the bigger his brain and its use. Hence, because women naturally have smaller bodies, they should be inferior and unequal to men? The cavity in the head, where the brain is localized, with which we used to think and access higher information for our material and spiritual resources, in order to feel comfortable and happy on this plane of existence, are the same for all.  Size and weight may differ because some heads are bigger than others. But the firing and activities of neurons in the brain are all that matters. And that is dependent on the kind of information the brain wants to access. On the trajectory of accessing information, success does not depend on size or weight. The desire and ability to will to do so is the key. Do the schooled people amongst us remember our growing days, when we were seated together in the classroom, from nursery to the university campuses? In most of these classrooms, weren’t some of our girls beating the boys to most, if not all the subjects? And they still surpass the boys in classrooms today. Do those girls feel superior to the boys? Neither do the boys feel inferior to the girls. But gradually as we had completed our schooling, and were growing up, and have had to practicalize the theories in the real world, this social canker of gender inequality firmly dipped its tentacles into the psyche of our social consciousness. It crept surreptitiously into our heads and intoxicated  us, it sent most of our girls reeling into the pursuit of false sense of comfort and security and happiness. And all of us have become victims to the benefit of this inequality from that angle. Yeah! Big time victims, where a woman’s ultimate wish is to attract a rich man who would provide for her comfort, security, happiness, and lullabies each night. While men are spurred on to struggle, hustle and secure jobs, make some money in order to satisfy such delusional sense of being on top. And with money at their disposal, could procure pleasure from most women’s body.  What is it that most women realize they have that make them think men should have money for? And what is it in women than men think they should hustle to get money to give women for? It is our inability to understand these, and our lack of courage to put  ourselves under the spotlight, in order to reveal the archenemy within us, coupled with the unwillingness to sacrifice our delusional sense of comfort, security and pleasure, especially as women, that equality can’t be accepted by all of us.  She truly loves it when she’s being catered for like a child. Pampered and spoiled with ice creams, spicy food, drinks and gifts. It’s what wins her so-called heart. The man who spends lavishly on her may succeed in taking her body home. How many would not when her petty cravings are easily met through the bustle and hustle of a man. And the only thing such a man would ask for is to be gratified with sensual pleasure. And would still be expected to impress her on top of it.  Most women hate it when men want to reason with them. Some men hate it when women want to share their sentiments with them. It’s the contest of the head and the heart. And we are all endowed with them. Which should dominate? None should dominate. But we must agree to blend 50-50. That’s equality. Wanting anything differently from that is wanting inequality. If we want inequality, then we should be prepared to be trampled upon by our providers.  Women must not ask men to give them an equal chance. Men don’t have it to give them. How men got where they are and whatever they have, women could also manage to get there and secure whatever they want without victimizing themselves. Because it has got to do with the use of the brain and not muscles. It’s not a square ring contest for her to say she has no strength to fight the man. Since it’s about the use of the brain, men don’t have brains more than women. Or else we would have seen that in the classrooms.  To be equal means to be equal. Not to demand it. Demanding equality instantly creates inequality. Its put the one demanding in an inferior position already. Women who have managed to become successful did not ask or plead along the way to achieve it. They took their positions and got what they wanted through the use of their brains. A contest they have engaged in thru out their lives. They didn’t only have to burden themselves by appearing beautiful, bleach their skins, wear wigs, paint their faces and nails and wait for men to grab them for their pleasure and give them comfort and security in return.  Women can create comfort and happiness and wealth and security for themselves on their own. They have been endowed with the brains to do so. Beauty and material possessions cannot be their yardstick for determining equality or inequality with men. The temptation to think like that can be very prevailing. Same as the temptation to give their beautiful body to riches.  Which usually comes in a trade-like form, like, if you want to enjoy my beautiful body then give me money for it. Or promise me some material thing before. Beauty is God-given, and shouldn’t be exchanged for money, but should be shared with a quality that befits and deserves it. Every now and then, we so see it, that most women who see their beauty, think they have had a quality to be materially successful with. Quite often they lie in wait for their moments with wealthy men. Allowing flattery and unsavoury compliments to lull them into the arms of Cupid. If beauty can be bought, it looses essentially it pristine value and goodness even to the highest bidder. And for that, they should be prepared to be unequal and victims to their financiers.  So physical appearance or material possessions are out of the equation of gender inequality or equality. The quintessential claim to equality must be derived from the knowledge that at the very core of ourselves, we are all the same. In the presence of  God, no one is above anyone. We manifested differently to fulfil the purpose of creation. To experience various aspects of the same thing. To understand what being feminine and masculine is. To appreciate the presence of each other. To partner with each other. To support each other. And most of all to enjoy each other’s presence. Religion may have come to tell us whatever. But the presence of God in us must be valued more than what some men or women say about our place in the scheme of life. What God revealed to us by way of our hearts and brains should be our utmost concern, not the opinions of a dogmatic believer and interpreter.  Yes! What man can do with his brain, a woman can do with her brain as well. The classroom proves that. However, women can only succeed with the claim of equality when they take the responsibility of their life, success, comfort and security into their own hands.  Men won’t give women all that they give them and still feel that we are all equal. It’s not realistic. Life has always shown that those who have to give feel superior. While those who always receive necessarily feel inferior. You won’t agree to be the provider in someone’s life who claims equality with you. Such an agreement is not sustainable. One can only do so much for awhile for goodness sakes, then fatigue and justification to stop would have set in due course. Even mothers and fathers after sometimes don’t enjoy being providers for their babies again. How much more girlfriends and boyfriends? Wives and husbands? Men and women in general? The claim to equality must be seen from a shared perspective. A perspective that takes into consideration our mutual inheritance. That we are all heirs to one source. And are the same with it in essence. Apparently, we have different roles to play with our physique. That is understandable.  That is not in contention at all. But do we have different roles to play with our brains too? Certainly not. Or else it would have been made clearer from day one. When we agreed to be together, it should be on the basis of friendship, partnership, supporting each other and mutual respect. Not one of the master-slave relationship. Women should look beyond the beauty and weakness of their bodies. Men should rise above their muscles and physical strength. Each of us should look at us from the perspective of our mutual heritage and mental abilities. We may all be unique in the proficiency of our brains. Yet whatever anyone sets the mind to do is achievable.   

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