THE PLACE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN FAYEMI`S GOVERNMENT BY GBENGA SODEINDE published in Nigerian Tribune of Thursday, 15 August in page 18. As a Yoruba born and bred individual in his early 40’s though grew up in Ekiti State and started to know that an average female child starts facing discrimination of all sorts beginning from her very family, and most unfortunately, beginning from her very parents. In Ekiti of the old, once a family has the majority of its biological children as females, it is believed that such a family must have been placed under an ancestral curse of extinction. So, the mother of such children definitely lose her prestige as a woman of substance whose husband cannot publicly walk tall among fellow husbands and present her as the mother of her home. In such cases, the woman in question and her children began to face the unending war of their lives in every aspect of the society and of the human endeavour. Destiny imposed heavier burden upon such a woman and her children if (which in most cases is the case) her husband is a polygamist. Of course, if one will not have to dilly-dally in what is an open secret in the entire Africa, even the worst skeptic knows that ours is a polygamous society. Woes betide the females in those dark days because, right from their homes, they could only be seen but never to be heard. Even when and where very serious family and societal critical decisions with far-reaching consequences on their lives and/or the lives of their children are being taken, they dare not have a say. Anyone that is conversant with African literature will know that a woman in Africa can only be born but not to be numbered. A woman can only be saddled with cooking and other domestic responsibilities but can never have a choice concerning what type of dish to be taken. A woman could only make herself available for her husband whenever he was horny irrespective of whether or not she was in the mood. A woman can only support her husband in his profession or trade, she could never establish her own trade no matter how industrious, talented or intellectually sound or physically healthy. A woman can only support the thrones of their royal husbands but never to be enthroned as rulers. She could only be a reproductive machine for her husband but never to have a say on the kind of life the children lived. It was then highly pathetic and unfortunate that women could or must only actively participate in the economic and/or revenue generation endeavours of the family like farming, harvesting, sales of farm produce, storage and preservation of whatever form of the family’s economic goods and treasures, they were never to be notified on the allocations and/or consumption (either sales or domestic deployment) of such goods. In terms of learning trades and/or sending children to schools for their education, even up till now in the majority of families, towns and villages across the nation Nigeria, female counterparts were accorded the least considerations. Women suffer deprivations in government, royal lineages, religious domains as well as our traditional enclaves (rural or urban). Most husbands only abandon their wives at home uncared for, and go to streets chasing other women (either married or singles) and begin to promise them Utopia even when they have not been able their wives and children the basic necessities of life. If argument ensues between husband and wives (let alone between the father and their children) it is part of our traditional beliefs that the father must always be right. It is even held that no matter the abnormalities committed by the husband, the wife must be silent and remain silent if she wants peace in her home. Some husbands are even very quick to quote the holy books that a wife must be submissive to husband, they will never show awareness of the fact that the same Book emphasizes the inalienable need for husbands to love and care for their wives. No matter how worse our past may be, I hope the posture of the modern day governance and leadership style of some of our leaders, such as Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and other governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has given us hope. We see under the leadership of Governor Fayemi how the voiceless women have been given opportunities to speak out, how the unseen women have now become visible, how economically disadvantaged women are being empowered in the state. It is never an overstatement that the socio-political and cultural rights of the women folks are being remarkably restored. For whoever cares to know, it is on record that Ekiti State under Governor Fayemi was the first in the federation of Nigeria to domesticate the Nigerian Gender policy with a view for the socio-economic empowerment of the women generation. The November 25, 2011 signing into law of the GBV Bill as part of the Ekiti State activities to commemorate the 16 days of Activism Against Gender-based violence is a step in the right direction. Also, the Equal Opportunity Bill is another thing to be celebrated. One will not also forget in a hurry that Fayemi is a strident voice and unchanging proponent of the movement for the funding of accommodation for women and girls under such need. There is a saying that “behind a successful man is a woman”. One cannot underestimate the invaluable supports and unquantifiable contributions of the Governor’s wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, in the relentless effort of Ekiti government to liberate the women race from the teething troubles, violence and operations that are culturally bestowed upon the women in the land. Erelu Fayemi’s numberless achievements are on record that she co-founded the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)- a new NGO with the mandate of financial liberation of the African women. Being the president of the Association of Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) Board of Directors, she was once quoted to have said that the “majority of women do not want to seek higher office due to the fear factor” and that “the terrain is tough enough to scare you (women) from this male-dominated arena” This according to her belief, is due to the fact that violence,intimidation, thuggery, bullying and other social vices have been the lots of the women experiences who have ventured into high-brow offices. This brings us to the issue of children and child abuse as it attracts the significant attention of the Governor Fayemi and, equally his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi even with the late Funmilayo Adunni Olayinka once launched the maternal and Child Health Records Book wherein she called on the women to take good advantage of the book as it stood a better chance in helping them in the effective management of their families. The late Adunni Olayinka promised the women world in EKiti under Fayemi that the government would prioritize maternal health and gender equality to enable women to have better health condition especially by providing free health services to pregnant women and children under age five. Lamenting the high mortality rate among multiple births, Erelu Fayemi also once lent credence to the fact that expectant mothers would now have better access to good health under her husband led – administration. One can only mention a handful of cases among the inexhaustible list. Is it the increased level of interaction and recognition of the children via children parliament, countless micro-credit schemes, increased percentage in women affirmation in politics, movement or activism against inhumanity of men against women, pro-women legislative enactment etc. One will continue to count on the numberless blessings of the women and children under JKF and wife leadership in Ekiti. The most interesting thing about these are the socio-political, cultural and economic consequences and implications all these pro-women and children engagement on the part of the state government has brought to bear in the state. Though the remnant are still hovering in the corners, the stories are now significantly in the reverse that men still take their children and wives for granted. Even those men in high echelons of the socio-political and economic ladders are now very cautioned for the fear that the Fayemi government and his wife will not in any way be positively disposed to any gory tale of unpleasant dealings with both women and children folks. It is therefore suggested that the state Government could further organize a forum whereby family men and women would be given public lecture by individual successful homes so as to further complement the efforts of the Governor and Erelu Bisi Fayemi on producing and building a healthy and successful family life-style that will create a better future for both women and children in Ekiti, Nigeria and Africa at large. GBENGA SODEINDE IS AN EKITI BASED REPORTER AND SOCIAL COMMENTATOR
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 06:24:52 +0000
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