Happy Women's Day.
My Manager wished my female colleague and I a Happy Women's Day after our morning meeting.
I asked one of my male colleagues if he won't wish me a Happy Women's Day. He told me a story about the aftermath of the Beijing Conference (I believe it's a fictional account)...
According to him, when a British woman was called up the next year to discuss the aftermath, she told them that she got home and informed her husband that he would start sharing the house chores with her. After about 3 weeks, the man adjusted and they continued living in peace.
The American woman, Ghanaian woman etc.
Then the Nigerian woman was called up to "testify". The gist is that she got home and told her husband that he had to start pulling his weight in the home. When she woke up three days later in the hospital, she had lost the ability to see with one of her eyes...
That was my cue to burst out laughing... I did not laugh...I never laugh at discussions that promote or justify violence. Instead, I asked him why it is out of place for a woman to ask her husband to pull his weight around the house. He said men don't like to be ordered around. So, I asked why the men don't do it BEFORE anyone has to order them around. Then another man who joined us said that Nigerian men don't do chores and that women are programmed to do house chores. He also said something about God not wanting men to do chores. I asked him if God has different standards for Nigerian men and non-Nigerian men. He had no answer for me.
Another man told me that the countries that are leading in the #GenderParity drive have the highest number of single mothers. Personally, I'm struggling to see the correlation...
Then a few men brought up the issue of paternity leaves. I actually think it's a legitimate concern. I think "nursing fathers" need support too...
These are snapshots of the conversations I've had so far about #GenderParity. Let's discuss this and learn from one another.
#PledgeForParity
