Happy International Women’s Day!!!

I celebrate every woman around the world. So, as we celebrate again this year, I decided to have an epiphany. We have come this far. We have achieved a lot but we still have a lot of grounds to cover. Our women are speaking up, our women are expanding their horizons, we can see it; women are breaking records, women are asking the real questions for change. From female presidents to female strategic ministers, self-made billionaires and so much more but the real question is, do we still have issues that are bothering us? Of Course, we have. Our girls are still being molested by carnivorous men out there.  Grandfathers sleeping with their granddaughters, fathers impregnating their girls, women beaten black and blue by men who claim to love them, women still being sidelined for just being a woman. There are a whole lot of issues to cover. Illiteracy, female genital mutilation.

We have them so much that when we think we have emerged we grade our evolving 2 per cent of what we could actually cover.

I give accolades to women who have made it easier for young women like me to understand these issues. I salute them for speaking for me right before I emerged. I salute every woman out there in the fields standing up for the rights of the girl child. I don’t take your work for granted and us as women, we salute your courage but apart from that, we all need to stand up for her! If we don’t join those speaking up because we feel we are good, we think we don’t need it, we think it doesn’t affect us.. well, not just yet. That’s what I would say. Not yet! It hasn’t affected you yet and even if you think these draining issues cannot affect you, we will never cover the grounds we should cover. 

If we keep staying back and keeping silent, allowing the same set of people do the talking, do the field work, we will not have the space for every girl child, every woman. The people out there, the advocates, they need more hands. They need to be carried, they need to be helped. What are you doing in your corner for her? What are you doing for the girl who’s in need of good education? What are you doing about Female genital mutilation? What are you doing at your workplace for women to be seen as equal as the men? what are you doing to make Her achieve her dreams? Are you for her or against her?

Do you want to be the cheerleader or be both the worker and the cheerleader? If we come together to stand for her, she will be better than she was yesterday. Her closed eyes will open, her closed mind will think for change. If we hold her hands to climb the ladder, she will look down and smile, she will never wish to have been born differently. She will appreciate her curves, her voice, her words, her thoughts and appreciate that every ticking time, SHE IS HER! She is a WOMAN!

Are you for HER?