Gone were those days that we thought and said ladies position was kitchen. Today, it has become the thing of the past. Ladies were relegated to the background, and their talents were shut down. Only few ladies were allowed to see the light of success in life.
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Many people, especially men, thought that they were redundant or waste products to the society. Some even thought that they were shallow minded, so they were rejected by many homes; thereby killing their dreams and aspirations they were having for our communities.
The simple analogy behind this rationale of many people not given most of ladies chance to expose their talents and dreams were that:
- Many people thought that Ladies positions were kitchen.
- They would be given for early marriage to produce more children, and therefore School can deny them that chance.
- They would become School drop-out because of early birth.
- They cannot do what men can do.
Limiting Ladies to domestic activities gone at the days:
The word "domestic" relates to anything pertaining to home. Therefore, gone were those days, Ladies were allowed to spend enough time learning household chores. For instant, in my country Ghana, gone were those days, many Ladies were not allow to go to School. You would find parents with ten children; five Gents and five Ladies. The Gents would be allowed to attend School, whiles the Ladies would be denied of their Schooling, and only be limited to household activities. Some Ladies were even allowed to labour and use the returns to sponsor their brothers Schooling. Similar of such thing happened to my Mother in-law as she narrated her story to me. And this how it goes:
That they were children of eleven of her Mother. She is the second born. The females are seven(7) and the males are four(4). Initially, her parents allowed her to attend basic school for a while. As she got to her adolescent age, her parents told her to stop schooling, and she was sent a village in Ashanti region called "Makyinmabre"- literally means in English language as " I have tour and become tired." This can also be interpreted as; when you tour and become tired, that is where you settle. At that village, she was allowed to do tedious work so that she could get money to cater for her brothers education.
From that "Makyinmabre" village, her Auntie also took her to Kumasi to help her in her clothes trading. At Kumasi too, any amount her Auntie offer her as her commission, she has to bring to her mother to continue her brothers education. From here, she grew up and were given to marriage. She said, not that she was not brilliant in school, and any time that she recall this issue, she weep for her parents denying her privilege in that way.
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I know many Ladies gone at the days were allowed to pass similar incidence which shuttered their dreams and becoming unrealistic. Higher percentage or opportunities were given to Gents, whiles the Ladies were left out.
Considering Today's Ladies:
Today, the trend is changing gradually. The population of Ladies outweigh that of Gents in Ghana. Quite large number of Ladies as of today are able to attend school and also occupy higher positions. From the onset of education on gender balance, the parents and the entire societies have understood the need to give the Ladies more room to operated. Of late, we have girls child education forming part of the curriculum from the basic schools to the university level that educate and encourage our Ladies to achieve their dreams and aspirations in future.
In Ghana I can say with the introduction of Girls Child Education, it has really helped most Ladies to advanced in their education to the highest level as equally as their Gents counterparts. Some Ladies are Ministers, Lawyers, Teachers, Nurses and Directress of most institutions.
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Disadvantages that emerged for denying Ladies to realise their dreams:
One can easily guess out some of the consequences that have come upon denying Ladies the chance to realise their aspirations. For example, denying the ladies from their education brought financial constraints or burdensome to the family. Ladies rights were also denied and this in effect limited their exposure in public functions.
But today, I can say vehemently that Ladies can support their families financially, and cater for their wards education. Today, Ladies voices are heard during public functions. That is a good news to hear on our Ladies.
Though we have not yet accomplished the task of raising our Ladies to the highest standard. I believe with the support of Girlsfoundation the benchmark set for our Ladies would be achieved.
