Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well. It is a pleasure to meet you again every Tuesday in this column.
Have you ever been in a queue at the bank, at the supermarket checkout; or even in a place where there are not enough seats to sit down and someone offers to give you their seat by saying: “honneur aux femmes” (honor to women)?
Well, today I would like to draw your attention to the fact that gender is not synonymous with chivalry. It is not enough to give up your seat to a woman in a queue to say that you are promoting women!
As an activist specializing in gender and social inclusion issues, I have nothing against giving up my seat to a woman or anyone else in a queue. But it just confuses me, is the woman in the position of an elderly person or does she have a disability that would prevent her from queuing like you? I wonder!
To me, giving up your seat to a woman in a queue is to conclude that she is not resilient or strong enough for certain things.
The place that should be given to women is much more that of opportunities, of decision-making bodies, those places where you should give up your place so that they can make their voices heard!
That’s when “honneur aux femmes (Honor to women) ” would make real sense!
Edéladjo Florence ODJO – Gender Specialist