“For once in my life, I had to make a choice between being a woman
and my livelihood,” said an American business woman being interviewed
about whom she voted for during the just ended elections in the USA,
which saw the re-election of Barack Obama. These words have been ringing
in my head since I first heard them on the 6th of November 2012.
For what reason in the world will the utterances of a wealthy American woman have such a deep impression on a guy who lives in a small country in Africa called Cameroon? This is probably the question in your mind at this moment. I understand that this question crosses your mind. The difference in distance and status between me, my community, and this woman, is the reason why her words had such a great impression on me.
Making a choice between who you are and your source of livelihood is so common in the part of the world in which I live that it is no longer a choice to make, but rather a way of life for the more than 20 million souls that live in Cameroon. You constantly have to choose between being a young person who desires to live a life free of all the barriers standing in the way of universal access to health facilities, education for all, secured future through sustainable use of resources, and the right for all to live lives worth living versus dying from preventable diseases, ignorance, complacency, and poverty. The case would even be worst for women in a country where if a man wants another baby the woman’s health conditions and opinion is secondary. What matters to most men this part of the world is their opinion–its all about men. They are comforted in their belief by many cultures which still portray women as being commodities; good only for the kitchen and child bearing and therefore having no right to speak when men are speaking.
Having to choose between your gender and your desires is a violation of human rights which is fast growing and needs to be addressed. No single soul on earth should have to choose between who they are and their happiness. A society which today, either through cultural and traditional practices or policies, creates this dilemma in its sons and daughters has no place in the 21st century. In a world where we daily celebrate the technological and intellectual prowess of women and men of all walks of life, we cannot continue to live in dilemmas like that described above. Irrespective of our gender, status, and conviction, we all have a right to be who we are and live in the world of our dreams.
Conscious of the above, we can all contribute in building a world where people will not have to go through the painful and humiliating process of having to choose between our lives and our livelihoods. This is possible only if we are courageous enough to say no to those things that stand in our way of living in the world we have always dreamed of and if legal and institutional frameworks the world over are designed with the upholding of the dignity of its citizens at heart.
For what reason in the world will the utterances of a wealthy American woman have such a deep impression on a guy who lives in a small country in Africa called Cameroon? This is probably the question in your mind at this moment. I understand that this question crosses your mind. The difference in distance and status between me, my community, and this woman, is the reason why her words had such a great impression on me.
Making a choice between who you are and your source of livelihood is so common in the part of the world in which I live that it is no longer a choice to make, but rather a way of life for the more than 20 million souls that live in Cameroon. You constantly have to choose between being a young person who desires to live a life free of all the barriers standing in the way of universal access to health facilities, education for all, secured future through sustainable use of resources, and the right for all to live lives worth living versus dying from preventable diseases, ignorance, complacency, and poverty. The case would even be worst for women in a country where if a man wants another baby the woman’s health conditions and opinion is secondary. What matters to most men this part of the world is their opinion–its all about men. They are comforted in their belief by many cultures which still portray women as being commodities; good only for the kitchen and child bearing and therefore having no right to speak when men are speaking.
Having to choose between your gender and your desires is a violation of human rights which is fast growing and needs to be addressed. No single soul on earth should have to choose between who they are and their happiness. A society which today, either through cultural and traditional practices or policies, creates this dilemma in its sons and daughters has no place in the 21st century. In a world where we daily celebrate the technological and intellectual prowess of women and men of all walks of life, we cannot continue to live in dilemmas like that described above. Irrespective of our gender, status, and conviction, we all have a right to be who we are and live in the world of our dreams.
Conscious of the above, we can all contribute in building a world where people will not have to go through the painful and humiliating process of having to choose between our lives and our livelihoods. This is possible only if we are courageous enough to say no to those things that stand in our way of living in the world we have always dreamed of and if legal and institutional frameworks the world over are designed with the upholding of the dignity of its citizens at heart.
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