Napoleon Bonaparte is quoted in an article by News 24, “The Feminine Touch,” to have stated that: “Women are nothing but machines for producing children”.
Stats from the article suggest that:
“On the political front it is estimated that less than 20% of women globally serve in parliament or hold a ministerial position. And with only about 20 women worldwide serving as elected heads of state or governments the so-called gender gap is strikingly evident.” [1]
From the same article, within a South African context, stats sourced from a study by the “Business Women’s Association” indicate that 4.4% of women occupy the roles of “Chief Executive” and/or “Managing Director”.
According to News 24, a report that was released by the “Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum” ranked South Africa “14th out of 135 countries.”
In the opinion of The Inner Circle, in this modern age of technology and access to information, are we, as individuals, communities, and countries doing enough to acknowledge this as a major concern warranting corrective action?
The predominant patriarchal role of society positions men superior to women. This is something that is entrenched in the mindsets of communities and individuals (women included) resulting in women being perceived as the ostensibly ‘weaker’ or ‘softer’ of the genders.
At the Inner Circle, one of its major service offerings is the International Conference for the Empowerment of Women (ICEW).
Ayesha Petersen: Education, Training and Awareness Officer at The Inner Circle, reports on the Program:
“In 2010, The Inner Circle (TIC) piloted The Conference for the Empowerment of Women (CEW), a program designed for the upliftment and empowerment of women from within an Islamic context.
This Conference allows women the safe space to actively engage in issues pertaining directly to them. The theme for the Conference in 2010 was Challenging Patriarchy, as this is the fundamental reason that some Muslim women suffer the inequality, and sometimes oppression, that they do. It was originally intended to be a gathering of local women but after word got about it, CEW has representation from nine different countries around the world, including five African countries. This then gave the name of The International Conference for the Empowerment of Women (ICEW). The Conference, which lasted for two and a half days, was such a success, that it became an annual fixture on TIC’s calendar. “ [2]
So, for ICEW 2011, the theme was: Finding your voice: An Islamic response to Gender Based Violence (GBV).
The conference was extended to three and a half days and was held at the Houwhoek Inn in Grabouw (Western Cape) and was aimed at local organisations affected directly by this topic and one of the key objectives was to establish an informed response to gender roles and Gender Based Violence in Islam.
“It firstly impacted on a personal level as some of the items on the program were placed there in order for the participants to gain the opportunity to address some of their own issues which would allow them to better themselves, which would then better aid them in their respective jobs of empowering others,” Ayesha commented. [3]
To sum up the gender debate, I quote Daniel Defoe (The Education of Women):
“For I cannot think that God Almighty ever made them [women] so delicate, so glorious creatures; and furnished them with such charms, so agreeable and so delightful to mankind; with souls capable of the same accomplishments with men: and all, to be only stewards of our houses, cooks, and slaves”.[4]
Written by: Nasreen Saunders - Media, Marketing, Publications Officer (The Inner Circle)
