African Woman President: A Call

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African Woman President: A Call

 INTRODUCTION

Your guess is as good as mine, what were your thoughts when you picked this booklet. I
knew I was not a writer of politics even though as a student of politics I am meant to
write and talk about it. I just wanted to clear your doubt that thisis no politics.

I congratulate everyone who thought it wise enough to read this as it takes you on a
journey on the AFRICAN WOMAN PRESIDENT. Even though this book is to reach out
to everyone who desire a restructuring in the society and also to make others join the
team.

Enjoy every page of this booklet, thank you [insert your first name].

African Woman President: A Call

 WHERE DO WE START FROM?
I grew up as a lady in a society that is peaceful and everyone minds their business, there
was nothing special about people around me. In the morning everyone goes to work, I
and my siblings go to school and then at night we go back to where we came from. I am
the very inquisitive type and I ask a lot of questions, as at junior secondary school 2, I
started my research on why life was in this form. I wanted to know more about the
future, will I just go to school, get job, make money and then start giving birth, as little
as I was, I always had this wild thought and like to plan my life on a seat [it is what it is].
This was so boring to me and I started writing story books based on my imaginations
which were most times love stories, and I had a lot of fans [lol]. As I grew up, my love for
women became stronger [I really can’t identify the reason], watching television series
did not show me much about what women can do. Getting to higher institution changed
my life, I started drawing plans, getting new ideas and then I was on track. Was it that
easy? NO. I had to chip in that for you to know that my upbringing did not really shape
me; I had to allow positive things to make me who I am today.

Our society has showed us that women are so fragile; they explain to the women why
they should do some things and stay in some lane. Seeing a lady grow from being a
child, undergoing the puberty stage and becoming a woman, you would agree that as the
growth takes place the difference becomes very obvious. At this stage, they both see the
need to have boundaries unlike during their childhood where they could play with each
other. Basically, as the growth takes place, gender roles set in and each gender act
simply implies that both genders are part of the society, and so I would like to establish
this fact that everyone is aware that the female gender is important, they have roles, they
are part of the reason why a society is what it is today, and this is not the issue. The issue
that needs to be addressed is if these women have a place as the men do in the society.
Here is the question, where do we start from? However, there are differences between
a Man and a Woman and this majorly lies in the bodily structure which

African Woman President: A Call

comprises of our physical strength, features and what the body can do.

The societies are ready to have the women around but are they ready to give them a
place? I am glad that in the recent years, I have seen women who are ready to take
position in every sector of the country such as Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iwela, Chimamanda
Adichie and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. These women have thrived in finance, writing and
politics respectively. There have been improvement on the awareness on gender
equality, I see young ladies trying hard to meet the standard, working hard to get good
grades, adding values and sharpening skills. What a great and amazing way to start! I
should ask another critical question which is, is the society ready for this new reform?

I have come to terms that women have right, and as a gender equality advocate I believe
right of every human should not be violated. We raise campaigns, talk about it on social
media, and have it on our day to day discussions. I see so much happiness and joy in
women that want this to happen, but if we fail to explain what this rights means, we
might not head anywhere. There is a common saying that when the use of a thing is not
known, then abuse is inevitable, this is the situation of most women. If you are reading
this book, do you really know your right? There is much to do than just raising
campaigns for gender equality; some of our advocates have not even taking time to
study what women right is and the reason why we have human right and women right.
The most common answer that I would get is the fact that women are more vulnerable.
Having taking time to study the universal declaration of human right, ‘words like every
man, every citizen is mostly used’, and because of this I felt since it has not been
explicitly written, as every man can mean man and woman it could also mean man
which is the male folks, there is a need to have women right [this is one of every other
reason you can give].

I have been able to identify that beyond asking for equality, we need to know if we are
ready for it and what it really entails to have this equality. As you go through the pages, I
want you to get a paper and write what you know about gender equality and later on
identify what you didn’t know and why it is necessary for you to know it. I am very much
aware that this is not what you were expecting, I also would have love to tell you in one
word what you would get after reading, but my conscience is stopping me as a man

African Woman President: A Call

cannot board a bus and expect it to fly like a plane. Let us go to the next slide to know
where we are heading.

African Woman President: A Call

 THOUGHTS
The saying what a man can do a woman can do also is our watchword, you would see
many nongovernmental organizations objectives advocating for gender equality and
women right. I have attended seminars that made me felt like my life matters and after
two days I felt normal and go back to my everyday life style. Come to think of it, some
men have the wrong notion of the feminist ideology; some even said it is from the pit of
hell. Have you met a woman who is not support of gender equality? It is what it is.

I just delve into that for you to know that what we are into, what you feel is good is what
another person will see as a thing that can kill. I could remember an argument I was
having with one of my white friend, as he was so much concerned that women are not
participating in politics in Nigeria, in my head I was like is the politics that has been
termed as a dirty game is what our women will do, I felt like it is just as if a woman want
to publicly declare herself as a prostitute. I just choose to keep smiling because no
matter the excuse that I would give him it would just lead to more counter argument. In
fact, it is a thing of so much sadness talking about such things with developed nations.
Are we saying having gender equality would stop all our problems, rather we are saying
that gender based violence is one of our problems and needs to be addressed as we have
taking the issues of security and global pandemic seriously. Our culture has shaped us,
given us guidance on how we should behave but are we saying no to culture now? We
are saying NO to what has made us like this but yes to every cultural value that has made
us better. We seek a platform where African women are seen and recognized, where a
woman would stand firmly opposing a male candidate and we would consider what is in
content not really container. Why do I feel like you think it looks like we want to place
the women over the men, but if we don’t address it in this manner much importance
would not be given to it? Women can speak like every other man, we are heading to a
new society structure and it needs more action than speaking, how do we get to this new
society, please follow me to the next page as we go on a journey.

African Woman President: A Call

 VOICES ARE NOT NOISES
The fact that the bodily structure of a woman has placed her under a certain look
doesn’t mean her physical strength lies in it. There is need for us to make the society.

Beyond having campaigns and seminars on why a lady should man up, beyond our
cultural values that we hold in high esteem, can we raise men that sees the disgust
in what women are facing and support this new structure. Remember I told
you I have seen women that don’t even support this, because they don’t see the reality in
it. They would tell you all this ‘your blood wey dey hot go come down soon’.

The weakness of a woman has even been seen in her ideas, thoughts and speeches. Cases
like having a woman speak about her ideas and it doesn’t really make sense until a
strong and thick voice interpret the ideas just using synonyms, and then it can worth it.

Little do we know that all of this has shaped us and make it seem like it is a normal
condition. If it is worth it then let us do it. The society is made up of me, you and
those around you. We are the pencil that would rewrite our stories and that is if only you
can hear the voice in all these noises. Apparently I am aware of those roadblocks, the
hindrances; let us trash them, onto the next.

African Woman President: A Call

 ROADBLOCKS
Every country has a way of doing things, in every country we have people with different
belief systems and this has enable cooperation amongst them. One of the roadblocks
that you might want to consider is the issue of cultural values and belief system. African
culture is one of the best thing and Gender equality is not here to erase our cultural
values but to cause a reform in cultural values that has limited what women can do and
who they are. Gender equality does not mean that women are trying to disrespect
cultural values especially culture that believes that men are superior no matter what.

Gender equality is mutuality

Gender equality is respect for each other

Gender equality is equity

Gender equality is gender equality

In as much we are the carriers of the culture, we determine how to play out the role of a
given rule in our culture, it is possible that you change your mindset today and stop the
system of this ishow we do it and adopt this is the way we will do it.

Another major road block is Poverty, addressing this issue will require so much
explanation, you would want to consider that when issues like how to better the
economy, how to make our nations more developed are more pressing, can I inform you
that to make a country press forward is to effectively harmonize its human resources,
and for a country that has social stratification, there is no how it would be able to utilize
her human resources. The division is causing a great harm if you care to know. Factors
of underdevelopment are intertwined and one cannot do without the other, if we have
the same number of men working in a tech industry and this number is the same as the
women that were admitted, how large do you think the productivity can be. Poverty is a
roadblock and can be alleviated through gender equality. If Mr. A is a farmer and can’t

African Woman President: A Call

afford his five children to school; no matter how his daughter shows her interest in
schooling she is always suppressed. I am grateful to the girl’s child programme for
creating awareness on this. I can’t overemphasize this subject but the essence of what
we are fighting for and the need for restructuring is alarming.

Government policies have been restructured but are not made explicit, there is a cause
for government to explicitly make rules and laws that substantively show gender
equality, and accommodate the women in their system. As dynamic as it seems, the
amendment of rules is not as simple as writing this book and I am not disputing the fact
that this policies have not shaped our conduct but they can be well carried out to
accommodate this structure.

African Woman President: A Call

 IF YOU DON’T, WHO WILL?
Let me quench your thirst!

After this, I will.

Don’t you think we need to revise our textbooks and revisit our companies’ rules, by
putting an end to wage biased policies? These textbooks are used to teach our young
ones, singing songs like ‘mummy in the kitchen cooking rice, daddy in the parlor
watching TV’ and since education is part of the tools that will be used to achieve this
equality, it is necessary to put it into consideration.

Do you see that it is more than taking seminars and raising campaigns, you and I have a
lot of work to do if we want this restructuring to happen and if you don’t do it, who will?

Look at how protective and violent we can be when it comes to sexual assault and
harassment forgetting the root causes. Strategic positioning of the women would better
the situation, not choosing a gender over the other, females seeing themselves as
responsible as the male folks would go a long way. You are part of the society, you will
place value on what you desire, desire this restructuring and educate someone today.

African Woman President: A Call

 THE AFRICAN WOMAN PRESIDENT
The African woman became the president.

Gender equality is not a selfish ideology that just wants the women to compete with
men; it is equality not seeking who is more competent. When we stop seeing women as
object, stop seeing them as one that have to follow a certain pattern, when we stop
judging our strength based on our body structure, when we stop seeing the women as
those who don’t deserve the same thing as the men, when we call it mutual respect and
‘not respect your man’, when a woman speaks and she is not silenced because she
doesn’t have a base voice, when the society allows women to work in sectors that they
desire, then we can have the African woman president, I hope you will let her.

Here is the major concern, who is the African woman president? Every African woman
is. It baffles me a lot when I see potentials following while they can lead successfully.
The word ‘president’ attached to the African woman is because the word has been
attributed to someone who oversees, leads, takes final decision and what have you.

There is a need for men to raise their placards for the women. No matter how we want
this, we can’t do this without them, it can’t happen when woman are still called enemy of
themselves, when we still value norms that has placed women under subjection and
limit their capacity. It might seem unrealistic but on this journey I write to everyone
who is an advocate for this and to those who have not joined us, this is a call, when we
advocate for women rights and gender equality, many problems that are affecting our
country will definitely reduce.

I AM WILLING TO SEE THE AFRICAN WOMAN PRESIDENT

EVERYWHERE.

African Woman President: A Call

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tolulope Oluwabusola Oguntayo is a student of International relations in Obafemi Awolowo

University. She is an advocate for Human Right /Gender equality and a Coach on personal
development and career building.

Tolulope seeks interest in development of African states as she is a serial volunteer with a
number of Nongovernmental organizations such as Acalypha Initiative, ANUNSA( OAU
CHAPTER), YALI Network and Action Africa Initiative. These organizations objectives are
towards national and global development.

She is also a writer and enjoys speaking on topics related to personal development, economic
growth and sustainable development of African states. She is a Model United Nations enthusiast
where she has bagged several awards as she loves participating in United Nations Women
committee and United Nations Human Right committee.

Tolulope Oluwabusola Oguntayo is open to invitations to speak in event on her interest as stated
above and would also like to hear your reviews after reading.

Kindly connect with her through the following platforms:

Facebook: Busolar Oguntayo

Instagram: tioluwaniopemi_

Twitter: tioluwaniopemi_

LinkedIn: Tolulope Oguntayo

African Woman President: A Call