By GRACE MAKWAZA & NEO MOKHAKALA
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Will we ever reach a point in our society where gender equality actually and universally exists? Many times our solutions inevitably create more problems. I, Neo Mokhakala, believe that there is a need to eradicate all forms of discrimination against females; however it is alarming that our desire to do so has become a quest to destroy the other gender. It makes me wonder if it is even possible to achieve SDG 5 and build a society where men and women live at peace without fighting for power. Experts predict that our quest to fight for gender equality might lead to what is called “War of the Genders.” Our cause has, in fact, often focused on “dethroning” men, and not the actual problem.
This and many other reasons inspired me to create an SDG 5 Socratic Seminar where males and females were brought in to give their opinions about how we can collectively implement SDG 5. This was held on Thursday, 5th November 2020 at the National University of Lesotho. The panelists who spoke for and against the motion for the day were the law students of the institution. And the motion was:
“Advocacy for Women’s Rights has Turned into The Emancipation Of Women by Diminishing the Rights Of Men. True or False?”
The males on the panel were quick to indicate that it is impossible to have gender equality in our society if we do not include men in our conversation. Many times, our society is quick to categorize ALL MEN as oppressors. They did, however, also point out that it is a moral obligation to help the women who do suffer and are oppressed.
The key points brought up in this seminar were that:
- In order for gender equality to actually make significant strides, men need to be brought into these kinds of conversations. Women cannot continue to think that they can do it by themselves without the active participation of men. When men are excluded from such discussions, we end up in a situation where men erroneously feel as if their rights are somehow being diminished.
- The fight for gender equality has been severely misunderstood by not only men, but women as well. Most feel like it has been reduced to a mere “male-bashing protest”, even though that was never the intention when this movement initially began.
Unfortunately, some feminists have done more harm than good in this regard.
- Going forward then, it becomes imperative that both genders come to the realization that the freedom of one does not in any way translate into the oppression of the other. Thus, in addition to “de-victimizing” young girls, young boys also need to be “detoxified,” because at the end of the day it is abundantly clear that both genders have suffered under the patriarchal system that we currently live under.
In conclusion, the seminar taught all the participants that in order to achieve gender equality both genders need to stop fighting and being defensive. The concept of privilege was made apparent during the debate. We fail to see how the fight affects both genders. It is evident that patriarchy is the greatest hindrance for gender equality and is detrimental to both men and women. In order to move forward we need to “de-toxify” men and de-victimize women. A huge thank you to the National University of Lesotho for facilitating this event!
