Christina ALENKNE

War of the Sexes: Are Women Inferior to Men?

Intro’ by Maureen Layokun
Maureen Layokun War of the Sexes: Are Women Inferior to Men? Forget all the Male/Female Equality song we sing every day, or the War Against Sexual Discrimination make-belief theory many societies propound daily. Though it paints a beautiful picture and may sound sweet to the ears, it is more of mere cheap talk. At present, in developing countries, and disappointingly even in some developed countries, the female specie is regarded inferior to the male gender and unconsciously treated as lesser beings by most when it comes to entrusting authority or position of power to the ‘ideal candidate.’

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What’s the story you may want to ask. Nowadays, females are no longer resting on their oars. Educationally, they are studying more and equipping themselves with what it takes to reach the top. But when it comes to job offers, economically, most employers will rather settle for a male staff. The reason being that a man will never go on maternity leave or take time off work to look after a sick child – a common practice with female employees.

Socially, the saying behind every successful man there is a woman says it all. No matter how educated a woman might be, it is a woman’s role to take care of the home and children, and then still serve her husband in every way. Unfortunately, this adage is now misconstrued by some men, who now assume every woman not just their wives alone, must automatically serve and respect them – after all they harbour and feed a fellow woman at home. At the slightest opportunity, they go biblical and remind any female who stands up to them that every woman was created from one of the ribs of man, and that even the bible declares her a weaker vessel on to man, forgetting that this same bible, tells the story of how easy it was for Delilah to capture Samson, a very powerful warrior, without even stepping into battle or raising up a spear.

Politically, it is a normal aspiration for a man to work towards becoming the number one citizen of a country but when we have a female with this sort of dream, the whole world becomes extra interested in what her Agenda is. The question ‘Can she deliver’ is sure to arise in the people’s minds, and as for the egoistic men who will have a problem ‘bowing’ to a ‘She’, you can be very sure their votes will definitely not go into the ballot box of a party fronting a female presidential candidate.

Only quite recently, I heard the story of a man who having worked hard enough to earn an award was willing and ready to turn down this award if it was going to be presented to him at the ceremony by a female. Definitely, there must be a reason for his stance on that episode as I believe it is much more than him just preferring a man to do the presentation of the award. So what on earth could the reason be? Is it a social, a political or even a religious one? No matter what reason it might be, that action even without any verbal word, speaks volumes.

‘ARE WOMEN INFERIOR TO MEN’ is our topic under debate this edition and as always, our ever faithful readers voiced their feelings, addressed their concerns and advised on the way forward. Please enjoy!
Interviews by: Maureen Layokun & Joy Echipue

John J. ADAMS
This particular topic is one which has caused much uproar within many circles of life from time immemorial. Sadly much of it was sparked by Religious orders who misquote the scripture to lord over women. The danger with misrepresentation of God is that death is the only fruit of that action and this will become plain the longer it is allowed to fester. We have been created equal – man and women God created them. The genius of God in creation needs to be seen even though His awesome insight can never be fully understood. Mankind was created completely in wholeness too and this aspect is tarnished by anyone ‘lording’ over another. Inferiority of women or men is completely abstract from who God truly is. We need to remember that it is only in the creation of mankind that scripture say, “Let us make man in our own image.” I have seen the purposes of God shrivelled in women too, sadly enough by men who thought God would want it this way. Now is the time to forever put a full stop to this. It is painful to see an amazing woman of God even told by the powers that be, that it would be better if she was a boy child as they are stronger. Much healing is needed due to this abuse. In Africa this mindset is still entertained although it is now by God’s Spirit that it is being reduced – bless God, that the Comforter is at work in the hearts of men and women.

Joyce IGBINOSA
This is a very sensitive issue, and I don’t want to see it as a debate because from creation God saw man and woman as equal and he also saw the need for them to complement each other. I feel it was tradition that created the gap and made it look as if women are inferior to men, and it relegated women to the background making them believe they were not to be heard or seen, I thank God for the deliverance and revolution because life would have been weird if there was no turning around of that situation .In a nutshell women are not inferior to men. Today we have women as President and CEO, in the banking sector, communication world, in fact, everywhere. If a man says he will not have a hand shake with a woman because of his religion no problem, I respect his right of religion, but that does not make women inferior to men.

Tinuke AFOLABI
I believe strongly that women are not inferior to men. God created a woman from a man’s rib, and we know that the rib is very close to the heart, God didn’t create from his teeth or toe, which he would have done if he wanted it that way, but because God knows how important women are he chose to use the rib of a man. So if Almighty God doesn’t see women as inferior, nobody should see them that way. Professionally, there are men and women in the same profession today, name it, in banking and finance, in the medical department, even in the area of transportation, women are found in every sector, and they do very well. And don’t forget this adage, which says ‘What a man can do, a woman can do better.’ Even academically, you find female professors, which is the highest degree. Women can multitask, in real sense, what women accumulate is more than what men can take, we have a lot of tasks; like caring for the children, cooking, keeping the house clean, and still go about our jobs, but one major thing that a man does, is to go to work and provide for the home, and most times we make good decisions for men as well. Indirectly it’s the men that should be inferior not the women at all, but you know before God, we are all the same. For instance, let me use Hillary Clinton as an example, you know it was when she came out of the presidential race, that we knew, what a major role she must have played in the life of Bill Clinton, when he was the president. When we talk about self-esteem, it is easier for a woman, to keep her self-esteem than a man; a woman can control her emotions. There are so many reasons why women shouldn’t be seen as inferior before men, have you noticed that as soon as a man is married he becomes more responsible, they begin to do exploit, and that makes the adage which says ‘ Behind every man there’s a woman.’ What else can we say?

Primrose DODO
As for me I say Hell NO. I keep wondering where this idea and belief originated from. Some say the bible because it says to honour thy husband because he is the head of the house, agreed, but the bible does not say he is superior to the woman. After all, this same bible also states that we are all equal before God. Again, the word inferior means lower in rank, status or quality. I as a woman do not see myself or other women in general as this. In the past men were seen as semi gods because of the kinds of jobs they did and because of their physical abilities while women were relegated to the home front and to lesser jobs in the society. I feel these are the reasons people think men are superior to women, but time and events have shown that women are equal to men. Nowadays we have female doctors, female astronauts and the list just goes on, and it just proves and shows that there is nothing a man can do that a woman cannot do, has not done and is not doing and doing even better. Funny enough, this particular belief should be the other way round. Honestly, women I think, should be termed the superior gender as there are some things that they can do that no man on earth created by God and born of a woman can do; they don’t have monthly menstrual periods, they don’t miss them to get pregnant, or carry pregnancy for nine months to full term and give birth to a baby. Show me a man that can do that and I will show you a virgin in a maternity ward.

Folashade ISIJOLA
I don’t think that women are inferior to men in anyway looking at today’s trend. Gone are the days when such talk would be given a second thought. Women have been able to distinguish themselves. I know very well that women are better managers. Politically, women have been able to manage their sector properly. Take a closer look at the sectors being handled by women; it is always free of corruption. Director General of NAFDAC in Nigeria Professor Dora Akunyili. Also the Director General of the Stock Exchange is a woman, Dr. (Mrs.) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke. There are pillar point positions. Women are in charge today. You can take Oprah Winfrey for example, she is the best and highest paid presenter in the world. Scientifically, it has been proven that women can do ten things at a time, while men can only do one thing at a time. God created women to help men sustain their position as men in this world, honestly without women there would be no man. In creation, God created women as helpers, not as inferior gender, God actually created women to help men’s in capabilities women is more thorough. A lot of things women can take that men cannot bear, in conclusion God sees us as equal.

Titilayo SHONBADE
I really do not think women are inferior to men in any way considering the fact that from the beginning God created man to be head and the woman he created to be his helper. So they, I mean men and women, should not be pushed by others or even the society into any kind of competition as they have different and definite positions to play in life. Again, more women are really trying nowadays to make themselves better persons by going to school and acquiring more knowledge, and also going to work and making themselves useful to their homes and the society. I believe in the saying what a man can do a woman can also do. Given the chance, I know women will do well in position of power as women are better organisers and faster thinkers than men. Come to think of it, how can men say they are superior when in actual fact, there is no single man on earth that did not pass through the womb of a woman. So how possible is it for a so called inferior being give birth to a superior person? I totally agree with Aretha Franklin’s song that ‘Sisters are doing it by themselves’ as more and more women nowadays, not the men, contribute more financially towards the running of their homes.

Tayo IBITAYO
It is very correct that the society and even some of the so-called enlightened people still perceive women as second class citizens to men in the political, economic, social and even political sectors. But what this particular set of people fails to realise is that, it takes more than ones gender to make him a superior or inferior person when compared to another. I do not think women are inferior to men in any way and if they are tried and tested in all walks of life, I believe they will perform very well. A typical example is Condoleeza Rice of the USA who is really pulling her weight and carrying out her duties efficiently and so far concerning her, at least we have not heard of any scandal. Also, though the ratio is very minimal, we have had female heads of countries in the past like Indira Ghandi of India and Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom, who did not let their countries down while in power. So this whole idea of men assuming superiority over women is all balderdash. Women should be given the chance to prove themselves and not just seen as objects for making babies, waiting on their men and running the homes. How effective a man is how much he has achieved in life and what he has contributed to life is what should determine his superiority over any woman; it should have absolutely nothing to do with his gender.

Christina ALENKNE
I believe that behind every successful man there’s a woman. No, I don’t believe that women are inferior to men; it’s a fifty-fifty thing. Gone are the days were men think they are superior to women, then they make women sit back and watch them. But these days’ women have realized that men and women are equal. For instance, married people living together see themselves as equal because they do things together for a better life. Unlike before when a man works alone and the woman stays at home, it’s not the same any more. I am a Catholic and God sees both men and women as equal. He doesn’t differentiate men from women. So why should a man think he is more superior, when the creator doesn’t see it that way.

Onome SALU
In answer to this controversial topic I will say no one, man or woman, is superior or inferior to the other as everyone has their own purpose to fulfil in life. True, a man is regarded as head of the home, but a woman can best be described as the neck carrying and navigating this head that is why the saying ‘behind every successful man there is a woman’ has now being changed by most people to ‘beside every successful man there is a strong woman’. Why most people are misled into thinking men are superior is that mostly it is the men who provide for the family. But without the woman there will be no family to provide for. It is the woman who delivers babies and builds the home. If I may ask, which man, no matter how strong he is, can bleed continuously for three to five days and still remain alive? Yet, the most fragile woman will do so every month, for a good number of years and nothing happens to her. And which man alive, whether the richest, the strongest or the most influential one was not conceived and delivered by a woman? By my understanding of the bible, even our Lord Jesus had to pass through a woman to come to earth. So women should not be seen as inferior to men because they are not. They may have a very fragile exterior but women are far stronger than most people think and will do exceedingly well, if not better, in any position or field when put to test with a male counterpart. For example, last year survey showed girls performed far better than boys in the last A’Level final exams held in the U.K. Will it be right then to say these girls, because of their sex, are still inferior to the boys? Of course not.




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