HYDERABAD: Here’s the prize-winning essay by C Sahara from St Francis College for Women on ‘How should we bring up young boys/men to handle the new generation of empowered women”. It was conducted in colloboration with The New Indian Express, media partner for the event. I read a popular anecdote in which two men fell for the same woman. As the story goes, one outdid the other. I propose that in fact, she chose one over the other. Both men went on to lead separate lives.
The one whom she chose to get married went on to become the senator of a very important city and other friend went into construction. One day, the senator and his wife were driving around the city to inspect major road construction that was being carried out and saw his past friend busy drilling away concrete on a sidewalk. He said to his wife, you should be glad that you got married to me or you would be with him – referring to the other friend. The woman replied, if I had married him, he would have been the mayor and not you. The seemingly obvious moral behind this story is the frequently used statement that “behind every powerful man there is a powerful woman”.
While this may be true and a statement to which most would agree, I suggest that it is quite stereotypical and archaic. Women are not behind men, they are equal to men. They are not just the senator’s wife. They are mayors, senators, executives, Presidents and Prime Ministers themselves. Women and girls are as powerful as men and boys. The old notion of a ‘firstborn son’ is no more a major concern. According to the Bureau of Labour statistics, women now hold 51.4 percent of the managerial jobs. The 2016 Icelandic elections held a place for 30 female candidates of parliament’s 63 seats.
In this age of a whole new ball game, there is a need to teach boys and men to deal sensibly and practically with empowered women. It is right at home that every young boy observes the conditions prevailing around him, the position what a mother holds in the house, her conditions of work etc. Parents play an important role in moulding the opinion that the boy holds towards his opposite gender. This is the root which churns ideas, views, and values of a boy to turn into a young man dealing with women empowerment.
The new definition of leadership has its tenets in patience, creativity, and sensitivity. Women are known for their patience and sensitivity and many of them are reaching great heights in management. So, men should be trained to accept women bosses. This training can take place through government spreading awareness, holding right view of women activists groups, through campaigns and competitions showing the tolerance of power between two genders, posters holding an optimistic view in this dynamics of power etc.
Updated texts books regarding women empowerment and gender equality will help the young to accept and see women as equally empowered. Often, little boys are told that they are stronger than girls. That sparks off a dominating streak in them that stays with them throughout their lives and manifests various ways be it in domination. All men should understand that it is a misconception that ‘men are stronger than women’. A woman is a courageous man. It is a woman carrying the original chromosome and her evolutionary adaptation led to the survival of species on this planet. There will be 100 percent results only when men teach each other that real men do not violate or oppress women and that a woman’s place is not just in the home or the field, but in schools and offices and boardrooms.
There are some social problems – such as over population – that women can really solve. For years governments tried all kinds of programs to reduce excessive birth rates that were undermining the economic well-being of their countries. But none of these top-down programs worked. The only thing that has worked has been the empowerment of women.
In countries where women have gained in education, economic opportunity, and legal rights, the birth-rate has gone down to a manageable level. Development is possible only with women empowerment and this has to be made understood by every young boy turning out to be a man. Many men need to be converted into activism for women empowerment and equality. ‘Engaging men for women empowerment’ is a step in right direction.
A UN Women initiative calls it “He for She”. It is a solidarity movement for women empowerment and equality that brings together other half of humanity, for the benefit
of all.
