Mukulukadhi mwena! (keep quiet woman!)…. That’s what they would say in my mother tongue. I grew up in a deep remote village and now I am in a western world… but this change of environment will never change my identity. I am a woman… and I am supposed to hush and I still hush under certain circumstances.
Am I inferior to men? Not at all but I was raised to be a woman, to only talk when I am supposed to… to not be too verbal and outspoken in public – to keep my chin down, -seriously! Does that limit my capabilities and my function in society??? Maybe yes or maybe not…. Like they say participation is leadership. So how do you expect me to be a leader while I was raised in a hush woman type environment? Anyway… I know I can be a leader and so can any other woman out there!
I imagine women out there in my village -those who never manage to go to school or those who could not go beyond secondary education. The fact that they were raised in a “hush woman” environment does not only complicate things, but also make life difficult for them. Would things be different if those women were educated? Would they be able to be aware of their rights and know that they do not have to hush no more? Of course they would.
So now, how many gender based violence activities could we reduce if it was not of the hush woman stupid theory? How many women would ask their partners to put on a condom, and how many multiple concurrent partnership case could we prevent? A lot of course! And perhaps the HIV epidemic situation would be different in Southern Africa. Perhaps women would be able to report their husband when they abuse them physically. And physical abuse is at least visible… can you imagine what emotional and psychological abuse women go through on a daily basis? And such abuse has become a norm not because women want it to be like that, but because society has shaped itself in that direction.
This is my opinion about the “hush theory” or should I say the zip on the mouth theory. Just imagine having a zip on your mouth that someone controls – terrifying hey!…….. That’s what we call being a woman from a village in Africa J
What ever you read on this blog is my opinion and might not be evidence based… so chill J
