CELEBRATING ‘HER’

Waking up this morning, I tried as usual to remember whose birthday it is on March 8th so as to keep the reputation that I never forget birthdays. I racked my brain to no avail. Again I tried to remember what the exact thing happening today is. Of course after a few minutes, I remembered that it’s the day of our women, International Women’s Day. It’s the day set aside to celebrate womanhood starting from girlhood, 'ladyhood', spinsterhood, motherhood, 'grandmahood' and whatever-hood.
In our daily lives, I have noticed that we do not accord these ones the respect they deserve. That we choose to celebrate womanhood one day out of the many in a year is not too much. My favourite musician, the masked Lagbaja is one I will always refer to in celebrating women. He rhetorically asked in one of his songs “who is man without woman?”. We all are nothings, without them. In his exact word, Lagbaja said “nothing, nothing at all”.
We do not eulogize our women enough and it is a real shame. Think very deep and you will realize that without our women, life would be incomplete. Our semen would have nothing to do if there is no woman to shed the egg. In the procreation process, she does the bigger percentage of the work. Let us get real, the only thing the man does is the ‘love making’ aspect of the thing. Thereafter, the woman is left to do the rest. She carries the baby in her womb for nine months, nurtures it to growth.
The woman is a special creature, made by the creator to help the man. I seize every opportunity to celebrate them not minding their excesses. Now the whole stuff is not about paying lip service. It is time to actually change a lot of things pertaining to our Eves. Every woman is a girl and deserves to be treated as a chic. Every girl is a woman and should be treated just that way. We have to start showing them respect.
Methinks it is time to stop suppressing our women. Our culture relegates them to the background so much so they are not given enough chance to express themselves. Have you ever taken time to ponder on what the women of the olden days would have achieved if many of them had the opportunities we presently have? Most of them made their homes even when their husbands had little or no time for them. I may be wrong but I saw that in my now departed patrilineal grandmother.
I have seen girls grow into self-made women who are being celebrated today. The allure of making history is one too much ignore for many of them. They therefore succeed where some men dare not tread. If those ones are suppressed, they would not have been blessings to our world. Our grandparents humiliated women in their days, it is time to rise above that. Women are also human beings, ones to be treasured and respected; valued and adored. I hope we can do more of that.
Some women may hurt you with their actions; many others may get you depressed by their inactions. Like one of my twitter friends said today, they may even not reciprocate your good gestures, just manage to take them the way they are. Reject the temptation to generalize as it may rob you of the one woman that is your ‘own angel’. Accept them just the way they are, after all not all men are even half as good as them sometimes.
So much to say but I have to keep this short. Please learn to show some more respect, love and whatever positive you can, to the women in your life – wife, mother, sister(s), niece(s), cousins, as from today. Care for them the best way you can; Be the reason they smile, chuckle and even laugh hysterically. May we all find peace and love; and may our womenfolk be blessed. Happy International Women’s Day.