Times Of Swaziland: EMPOWER WOMEN FOR CHANGE

EMPOWER WOMEN FOR CHANGE
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The Editor on 12/02/2019 00:15:00


Sir,
When it comes to us as a society, we are so laid back and will forever remain
there for as long as we think that there is any better human than the other. As
long as we all inhale oxygen we are the same unless you use up hydrogen.
We have spoken a lot about empowering women as a society and as the entire globe
but no fruits have been produced. We do a lot of talking and presentation of
ideas but we don’t seem to put them into action.
Ever since the history of Parliament, we have never had a large number of women
over  men; why? That is because our minds have been programmed by cultural norms
to see women as objects which can do nothing other than staying at home and
being men’s puppets.
Campgaign
So when we go and vote our minds are still in that, no matter the campaign.
Things will not change unless we are ready to face norms and bring them down.
Women are not just incubators but humans who can do as much as or even more than
what men can do. I am one crazy person who believes that young people who have
transformed minds and women can make this world a better stay. Women have what
we call motherly instinct, which means they place the interests of others first,
while, on the other hand, men are interested in boosting their egos. I am not
saying men are not fit for managerial positions but we have had that and nothing
has changed. Since 1968 we have never had a female prime minister and we have
had one female deputy prime minister yet we are busy shouting First World
status.
Surname
Ask yourself this; why is it that when a man and a woman marry only the woman
assumes the man’s surname? Why don’t both partners assume each other’s
surnames if surnames are what make marriages? A marriage is a partnership,
meaning there is no CEO. No one is above the other but according to the surname
issue; it makes it as if men are in charge. The problem escalates when divorce
hits home. The woman is left with loads of work and it is not mentioned anywhere
that the woman has to change her personal documents from her former spouse’s
surname to hers again while the man has it easy because he assumed no surname.
Don’t tell me things like culture does not allow that. Don’t even try using
the ‘we found it here’ card. If we were all comfortable with how things are
here on earth, we would not have technology today. It took someone who was not
satisfied about the happenings of their surroundings to introduce it.
A woman carries a child for nine months while a man just deposits his cell yet
when the child is born they assume the father’s surname, how come. If it were
to be about surnames we would assume our mothers’ because the first human
being you come to know first is your mum and if it were to be about ancestors I
would have known my mother’s ancestors before my father’s. Who would it kill
if we were to assume both parents’ surnames? I know this is deep; these are
the conversations our society should be having if we want change. I am Ncamiso
Mbetse-Motsa because I am a product of two people, so in that respect, I will
use both their surnames. Right now we plead with the Ministry of Home Affairs to
allow us use our birth double-barrel surnames.
Ncamiso Mbetse-Motsa