International Women Day: NGOs charge women to challenge gender stereotypes

AS the world celebrates the 2021 International Women Day, some women-led Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have called on African women to focus on self-actualisation and challenge gender stereotypes.

The NGOs, the African Change makers Women Network (ACWN) and the Initiative for Information, Arts and Culture Development in Nigeria, made the call in a webinar on Monday with the theme: “Choose to challenge inequality and gender stereotypes”.

On March 8 every year, people from all over the world irrespective of race, colour, tribe or creed celebrate International Women’s Day to bring to bear issues confronting women.

Mrs Olajumoke Adu, the Coordinator of ACWN said that women need self-development and self- actualisation because they had been almost shut out of the political space and some careers were seen only for men in the society.

Adu said that many professions in the recent past had been stereotyped for men but a few women had by hard work in spite of discriminations broken the such limitations and proved themselves.

Mrs Adefemi Arigbede, the Executive Director, Initiative for Information, Arts and Culture Development in Nigeria, said that this year, the UN had charged every woman to choose to challenge inequality and gender stereotype.

“Women are lagging behind in many areas of life, socio-economic, political facets. And we must remember that God gave an equal world to all humans, the same platform and opportunities to actualise our fullest potential,“  she said.

Arigbede said that a call to challenge stereotypes must begin first with women because women were fed with norms through the cultural disposition as enshrined in the society.

“In Africa, a woman grows up with the idea that she needs validation from the opposite gender to make her complete. Every little girl aspires to get married, start a family and support her spouse.

“These ideals, although noble, feed into gender stereotypes. It limits a woman’s ability to think outside the box to survive.

“Most men grow up knowing that they are going to be responsible for themselves and others. Women grow up hoping to find someone that’ll be responsible for them.

“The thinking is different. If we want to challenge stereotypes, we must clarify and develop our inner purpose to conform to aspirations bigger than our innate myopic dreams,“  she said.

Arigbede said that challenging stereotypes and creating new narratives would not come from hand books and speeches but from consistent action over time as positive examples would  set standards and customs.

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