Sunland Baptist Academy's Saida Karamo says the fight for women's equality is not over, and there is a lot more that needs to be done by men in supporting women's rights and equality. Karamo says once men stop buying into the idea that women are only sex symbols or baby incubators and start giving women true value, that women will feel and become more empowered.
Karamo's views were put forward in her essay, which came out on top in the "Join Me on the Bridge" art competition. Held in Grand Bahama, the annual contest gives female students in grades nine to 13 the chance to use their artistic and writing talents to celebrate International Women's Day.
"Before women had the right to vote, or own property, the right to compete in the workforce, or the right to make decisions regarding their sexual health, men had to support the idea of empowering women by affording them equal rights," said Karamo in her essay. "Although we have much further to go, especially in non-Westernized societies, men play a pivotal role in supporting women's rights and equality. In countries where a woman's worth is less than that of a domesticated animal, it is unfathomable to imagine that women could be subjected to such a low status in any society."
Karamo got the opportunity to read her essay during the opening ceremony, held at the Garden of the Groves.
Bishop Michael Eldon School's Candice Woon received honorable mention for her essay contribution in which she said that people have the potential to open their eyes and see past the old and sometimes narrow views of their ancestors.
"Men may aid in helping women achieve their rights by using their authority to promote change as well as by promoting equality in the workplace by supporting equal salaries," she said. "The children of today are to be the workforce of tomorrow, and by teaching them against gender discrimination then we are freeing them from the traditions that have bound us. With the support of our male counterparts we may join together to reach our goals. And may go forward, upward, onward, together."
St. George's High School's Thaddia Simms walked away as winner of the art competition, with Grea Prescod from Grand Bahama Catholic High School receiving honorable mention. Their works were displayed during the event.
International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women, past, present and future. "Join Me on the Bridge" in Grand Bahama is now in its fifth year.
"Join Me on the Bridge" organizer, Lynette McInnes said, in an effort to encourage young men to explore and reflect on women's rights and equality and be more involved in women's issues, that an essay and art competition for young men will be added.
Saida Karamo's winning essay
Before women had the right to vote, or own property, the right to compete in the workforce, or the right to make decisions regarding their sexual health, men had to support the idea of empowering women by affording them "equal" rights. Although we have much further to go especially in non-Westernized societies, men play a pivotal role in supporting women's rights and equality. In countries where a woman's worth is less than that of a domesticated animal, it is unfathomable to imagine that women could be subjected to such a low status in any society. However, men can be agents of change by creating laws to support and enforce the fair treatment of women, changing societal views on women by promoting women in a positive light and speaking out against cultural norms and religions that support the unfair treatment of women.
A man can support women's rights by creating laws to protect women and to penalize those who ill-treat, abuse and deny women fair treatment. These laws would ensure that women have access to quality education and equal rights in terms of custody of children, property and advancing their career. More education and freedom would mean that women could have access to better jobs and have a more vocal and dominant role in society.
A man can help change negative views on women by creating laws to protect them, portraying women in a positive light in society. Once men stop buying into the idea that women are only sex symbols or baby incubators and start giving women true value women will feel and become more empowered. If men take and treat women more serious and as equals than other men will eventually have to change their negative perceptions and treat women as they should be treated. Women can do a lot alone but with the support of men, a lot more can be achieved and accomplished.
If women are placed in a more positive light, a lot of negativity around the status of women would be removed and eventually eradicated. In many cases, women are demoted to silent figures in the households who take care of the animals, and the children and provide sons for their husbands but if women are more revered in society then they would be placed on a pedestal and achieve a higher status. A lot of this can be changed if men are engaged in discussions about cultural norms that have been passed down where it is considered okay to treat women unfairly. Also, if pastors and religious leaders enforce messages that treating women unfairly, and denying them rights is wrong, then women can achieve equality.
The fight for women's equality is not over and there is a lot more that is needed to do be done. If men respect women and fight for them and protect them, they would be great supporters in ending discrimination and inequality among women.
Candice Woon's honorable mention essay
Throughout history there has always been tension/conflict between sexes as a result of our competitive instinct to be superior being reflected on our physical differences; for what makes men and women so different than just contrasting physical features. However, in our competitive blindness we have stripped ourselves of our own rights, rights that should be shared equally. For example in China the one child law which states that each family may only have one child has led to the murder of several female infants but who's to say that said child could not achieve greatness just as any boy or girl throughout the world may? Now that we can see that we are equal, with the exception of a few physical features, we should strive to change the old rules and traditions put in place by our narrow-sighted ancestors. Thus, I believe that men's role in supporting women's rights is through using their authority to influence change, through their actions and education of the youth.
It can be observed in our daily lives that there are more men in positions of high authority than women. This may have been a result of traditions that continue to affect us today; for example male priests, male popes, male prime ministers, or even male governor-generals. But change is coming. And we must face a simple truth... that we need male support to gain our own rights. It is only logical to appeal to those with authority to change that which holds us down which in some cases is the law. Thus, those men in power hold a responsibility towards us, especially women, to support equality.
Men may also support equal rights through equal pay. As Obama, president of the United States of America, stated in his State of the Union Address women are earning less money than men: "77 cents to a dollar" respectively. By allowing this unfair treatment to continue we are holding ourselves back from seeing past physical differences and prevent ourselves from maturing.
Finally as we all know one of the most efficient ways to create change in society is through the education of the youth. Children are not discriminatory. We must learn to judge others before we begin to discriminate. Thus, fathers may help by not teaching their children to discriminate. For example as Norman Podhoretz stated, in his article "My Negro Problem-And Ours," "I know from observing my own children that they attribute no significance to such differences even when they begin noticing them"; in this quote he is described how children are not born with predetermined judgment so why should we take upon ourselves to change a natural idea that should never have been tampered with in the first place?
We have the potential to open our eyes and see past the old and sometimes narrow views of our ancestors. Men may aid in helping women achieve their rights by using their authority to promote change as well as by promoting equality in the workplace by supporting equal salaries. The children of today are to be the workforce of tomorrow and by teaching them against gender discrimination then we are freeing them from the traditions that have bound us. With the support of our male counterparts we may join together to reach our goals. And may go Forward, Upward, Onward, Together.
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