In Canada, October marks Women’s History Month and each year, in the month of October, the world marks the International Day of the Girl Child. I love what October has to offer in terms of celebrating girls and women. We deserve to be celebrated, our rights should be honoured – and not just in October.

There is still a long way to go in getting the message of women’s rights (as people), solidly rooted in the minds of many, in a world where woman are constantly belittled. Women have been pioneers of social progress in many societies. In this present time, women are still pioneering, still leading in different fields. I am 19 years old and I remember that a few years ago when I was in senior secondary school, it was women that led in terms of grades-ranking. However, women are still looked down on as a weaker gender, who are to be told what to do, especially by men or even by other women who are accustomed to the rules of patriarchy.

Society loves to dictate to the woman, how to speak, how to act and what kind of profession to choose – so that she can be ‘feminine enough’, so that she can be a good wife material or simply so that she can survive in a male-dominated world.

If we are observant, if we read the news often, we will notice that women are winning. It is not a competition but women are really shining out there. So, Dear Society, stop focusing on telling women what to do. Women are not lesser human beings than men. We are not made to be controlled or disciplined by a men, either. In many societies, the girl child is looked down on. There are communities where, a girl who is the first child of her parents cannot inherit her father’s wealth. In some homes, it is okay for  a woman to be beat by her husband – as a form of disciplining her.

Societies must treat their women better. Surely there is a long way to go. In the meantime, women, keep shining, keep breaking through glass ceilings, never believe that you were made to be controlled. And to those men (including my dad) who believe in the equality and power of women, never let go of such wisdom.

Ladies, you rock!!

Love,

Chiamaka

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