So #16daysofactivism against gender based violence just ended, during the different events and activities we embark on to engage the community, we focused on ending economic violence against women and unpaid employment for women in informal sector.
I had discussions with different men both in formal and informal sector, the mindset is mind-blowing, we seriously need interventions on behavioral changes, mindset shift and definitely family reorientation of gender roles.
To state just 2 examples,
Example 1.
A man said women are taking over everything and we are still advocating for them to be paid or paid well (he said this in a very hard voice, did all he could to shield either irritation or anger), curious me, I asked how and he said and I quote
” Every office you enter now, you will see 6 women before you see 2 men, because they are now using their V-Power and so men are not getting any job and cannot take care of their home financially”.
My heart breaks because he is an educated man climbing and rising on the corporate ladder, giving unempirical data about women stereotyping women in the corporate world.
Example 2
During community engagement, women is assumed to cook, bath the children. take the children to school, bring them back from school, do assignments, clean etc and thus the home is breaking and children are becoming wayward because women are not working and do not have time to sit at home anymore and it was suggested that women should work from home, when we asked for suggestion of works women can do to shuffle these gender assigned roles and parenting these are the jobs men think women should do
Petty trading in front of the house
Sewing from home
hairdressing from home
Selling food from home etc
Why you say too? So women are not exposed to men that can entice them with money from their husband or so they not seen by other men and so they can stay at home to take care of the children.
I did not even want to speak about the other topics, I will be unwrapping this in my next post, please do read.
My challenge to you today is, what wrong narrative are you silence about to protect the bro-code?
What stereotype do you have power to end but didn’t, which woman could you have saved but didn’t because you think it is not your business?
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY after reading this?
XoXo Whoopy Yun
#endgbv #endallformsofviolenceagaisntwomenandchildren #whoopyyunfoundation #omobolanleadedeji
