By Neba-Fuh
If the biblical teaching that 'the man is the head of the family' is anything to go by, then the woman is surely the heart of that family.
Until the last decade of last century, the role of the African women and even in many other parts of the world had been relegated to those priceless activities which society has often and wrongly tagged a very low economic value to. Then came the Beijing Women's 'Awareness' conference of 1995!
The traditional African housewife whose daily activities involve meticulously running the affairs of the home , making sure all manual chores are done, and sometimes, independent of an irresponsible husband; the tireless women traders, fondly called in my part of the world as 'buyam sellams', who would squeeze themselves in road-worthless cars or mechanically unreliable trucks heading for 'bush markets' to buy all kinds of foodstuff, purposely to sell them in the urban markets and make meagre profits;
the traditional African woman who survives her household with produce from her farm, working all day under the blazing tropical heat of the sun, and sometimes simultaneously catering for her under-aged children; and of course the small percentage of African women who have climbed up the rungs of ladder of economic and political empowerment. These are the groups of people who hold the tools that are capable of dismantling African dictatorships.
Apart from the bestowment on women the natural role of ancestral continuity, they also possess exclusively the 'triggers' that push men to behave the way they behave.
Tell me why an arm robber takes all the illogical risks to undertake an arm robbery, if there weren't undeserving sluts he's looking forward to squandering his own share of the booty with.
Why should a minister amass so much stolen money ,only to satisfy the unlimited extravagant excesses of his wife and concubines while the greater percentage of the masses languish in poverty?
The power of the female gender is the driving force of the behavioral trend of their male counterpart, and this has been so from time immemorial. That 'force' that would bring forth the curse on Adam and his generations; that 'force' that would cause John The Baptist's head to be served to a king on a platter; that 'force' that will cause a teenager to brave a night of unrepentant darkness to go look for his girlfriend; that 'force' that would cause kings to abdicate, and priests to 'expose' the trousers underneath their cassocks.
The numerical advantage of women in Africa and the driving force they possess in influencing social behaviours can catalyse events that can offset chronic African dictatorships. There are many examples of activism of African women who had grown above their traditionally defined
precincts and acted in a way that changed the course of events and improved the future of their children and the generations to come, even in eras when it was unheard of, for women to undertake such activism.
For instance, 'The classical colonial example of the 'Aba Women's riot' in October of 1929 when the women of Aba in Eastern Nigeria demonstrated against high taxes and low prices of Nigerian exports, is one of the most poignant examples in West Africa of women using their numerical strength, ability to mobilize and their traditional role in African society to advocate for inclusion on an issue that affected their lives' ("Effecting Change Through Women Activism In Liberia" by Gbowee Leymah; IDS Bulletin Vol 40,No 2 March 2009).
Another recent example is the resolve of the women of all walks of life under the banner of 'The Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace Campaign' who through persistent non-violent demonstrations and sometimes unusual strategies like deciding to sex-starve their spouses and partners,forced the then Liberian dictator, Charles Taylor to come to the peace table at the Accra Peace Talks, in 2003. The result today is a more peaceful and democratic Liberia with the first female African head of state.
These women worked on the premise that the gun does not distinguish between religions or denominations, thus rallying women of diverse religious backgrounds-Christians, Muslims and Traditional African religions and even atheists. Renowned Liberian activist Gbowee Leymah led those women during that period, as portrayed in a recent film(documentary) "Pray The Devil Back To Hell" produced by Abigail E Disney and directed by Gini Reticker (2008).
In Africa, and particularly in the Cameroons, the role of women can be instrumental in unclenching the wounding claws of unruly dictators, whose behaviours have left their populace desperate, stagnating the options of many a generation to come.
In such a context where the political party approach to effect change has been stifled, it is therefore the responsibility of all and sundry to emerge above party affiliations to confront their future, through the only remaining logical route of persistent non-violent activism. If this is to happen, then the women will be the 'kick-starters' and the 'force' that will drive such a revolution to fruition.
The housewives, the buyam sellams, women in civil service, women in church groups, female entrepreneurs and intelligentsia can form a stepping pad and a supportive rope for all to join in. They will catalyse the men, to act with them this time not for the callous reason of temporal material fulfillment, but for the good of their children and the generations to come.
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