Steemit Engagement Challenge S8-W2 | Gender visibility and equality

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Yesterday was 8 March and the day that we celebrate the achievements of women globally. It was International Women's Day!

It is a public holiday in many countries but unfortunately not mine.

In my country, South Africa, we celebrate National Women’s Day on the 9th of August each year. The month of August is also “Women’s Month”.
On this day we take a look at women who played an important role in contributing to not only their community but also the country and not only their achievements.

To understand the topic of this contest let’s take a closer look at the difference between“visibility”, “equality”, and “rights” for women.

What is women's visibility?

It is the road map to the empowerment of women and gender equality.

What is women's equality?

It is when women have equal, rights, opportunities, and responsibilities to men.

What are women's rights?

There is a saying, “women's rights are human rights.”

Women have all the rights that belong to all humans. These are the rights that people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jnr, and Eleanor Roosevelt fought for.

Eleanor was the drive behind “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.

“We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind. This declaration may well become the international Magna Carta for all men everywhere.”

Women of all ages also have the right to;

• Be equal in dignity and rights
• Be free from violence
• Be free from slavery
• Be free of discrimination
• Be recognized as a person
• Receive education
• Have a vote
• Own a property
• Earn a fair and equal salary
• Entitled to a fair hearing
• The freedom of movement, thought, opinion, and religion
• Marriage and a family
• Duties in communities and countries

In South Africa, the right of women is protected in the Constitution and through the law. The Equality Clause states clearly that nobody is allowed to discriminate against gender equality, not for women and also not for men.

It is such a serious subject that a Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) was established that acts as a watchdog making sure that discrimination is limited.

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👉🏾 Can celebrating Women's International day increase visibility and equality?

My answer is yes provided that is celebrated correctly.

What I cannot understand is that although the UN (United Nations) adopted Women’s Day in 1977 and request the world to celebrate this day they proclaim it as an official UN holiday together with World Peace Day.

Surely the one is just important as the other one therefore support should be on separate days?

I also waited with this post to see how this day will be celebrated in my country and the mention thereof before I wrote my post.

Little was said on our local television and radio stations I watch and listened to. I was disappointed but then I was reminded by a friend that it could be a result of us celebrating women in August.

However, the 8th Annual Forbes Africa Leading Women’s Summit took place yesterday. This event takes place as per the UN standards of commemorating the achievements of women, not only in Africa but globally and was held in South Africa.

What surprised me was here on Steemit as I saw posts from various Steemians, men, and women, wishing the ladies of the community a beautiful Women’s Day. Thank you to each one of you!

Of importance for me is that no matter when, how, or how long the word is spoken as long as the penny drop we are making progress.

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👉🏾 Are the Feminism fight and the Women’s Rights fight the same?

At a glance, the two terms are the same. Both fighting for equality!
But there is indeed a slight difference between the two.

Many years ago women in England were not seen as “human” in the eye of the law and had no rights and privileges. It is only through the “Feminism and the Women’s Rights” fights that women are now seen as persons.

• Women had to fight to get the fight for a vote
• Women had to fight for education
• Women had to fight for equality in the workplace
• Women had to fight for safety

Yet, the fight is not over.

Secretary-General António Guterres, made headlines this week when he said that it will take another 300 YEARS to achieve gender equality.

👉🏾 What do you say about women in top positions?

Any woman in any post can be as good as any male if not better.

Let’s take Covid-19 as an example. It was proven that those countries with female leaders perform better. Why? Maybe women just show empathy and sympathy much better.

As for my country, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor our minister of International Relations and Cooperation. She is a remarkable woman who is not only well-spoken, well educated, but also a true ambassador for South Africa.

She was asked the other day what would help Ukraine. Her answer was, “Fixing the UN Security Council.” Umh… something to ponder over.

She also delivered a keynote yesterday at the Forbes Africa Leading Women’s Summit;

“In South Africa, we are fortunate in that the achievement of freedom and democracy has led to positive progress in a wide range of sectors.”

We saw a reshuffling of cabinet earlier this week and it was no surprise that she stayed in her position.

Gone are the days when women have to feel intimidated by men with double-breast suits in a boardroom.

👉🏾 How can you help your community forge a gender-equal world?

I can write a book on what I can do to help my community to create a gender-equality world but in the end, it boils down to one word… EDUCATION!

If we want to empower women, give them equal rights and opportunities, universal access, value in life, a fair chance, and keep them safe from violence there is only one thing we can do, EDUCATE!

We can even go further and compare it to Steemit. How do we help Steemians to make a success on this platform?

We educate them.

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👉🏾 What makes a Good Leader (Gender or merit)

When we speak about a good leader it doesn’t matter the gender of the person but the merit.

It is the same as with any workplace, those performance appraisals we so hate and the 5 merit principles;

1. Planning
2. Developing
3. Monitoring
4. Appraising and
5. Reward

A good leader will lead from the back and make sure he acts on these 5 principles.

In closure, what is a woman?

A woman is not just "an adult female person" but she is created, blessed, and a gift to those around her.

I invite the following three people to follow @steem-cameroon, subscribe to the Steem Cameroon Community, and to participate in this contest.

@pathanapsana
@mariami
@waqarahmadshah

Account summary:
Club100
Transfer to vesting: 1,435.130 STEEM
Normal transfer: 38.000 STEEM (Contest prizes & charity)