Paper by Amb.Dr. Roseline Adedoyin Amangbo.
The Secretary General of UNIPGC Mission Africa.
Let us first of all look at who a 21st Century woman is.
A woman of the 21st century endures many changes and challenges than historical women of past centuries, including technological and medical advances. These changes encourage women of the 21st century to be more flexible and versatile, along with increasing their endurance and stress levels.
Let us look at another definition of description by Dr. Abhaya Joglekar. ” 21st Century is an era of Science and technology.
In the field of science and technology we can see constant growth. There is advancement in every field. We have developed advanced missiles, nuclear power, machines and techniques. The role of women has also changed in the 21st century. They are no more restricted to cooking, washing clothes, doing household works and looking after their children and family or making babies. Today women are in every field and society, whether it be sports, commerce and industry, education, health, politics, technology, navy, army and agriculture.
Due to advancement in the field of science and technology, the world government is encouraging the active involvement of women in various fields inorder to increase the growth of the global economy. We have been able to overcome the evils of our society which were prevalent in our religion, caste and territory and endanger the world’s peace.
Now, people are making maximum utilization of available resources for their well beings and for the generations to come. We are now a developing country in which women are self dependent, good managers and are making a balance between her family responsibilities and outside the home. Women have become an earning member of the family and a responsible citizen of the society”.
Let us now examine the significance of women’s roles in the society…”The main functions of women in the household are the transmission and implementation of cultural values, principles and beliefs to their children. Women’s positions in society focus on human growth, social justice and influence on political reforms.” Not only these, there are other roles like being caregivers, conscientious Farmers, Educators and Entrepreneurs.
Let us note that women develop humans from their homes. So, through the development of humans, we develop the society. We translate values, we translate beliefs, through the children in our families, we develop good members of the society.
Women are also considered as consultants in the home; from medical consultant to food onsultants, marriage consultants, investment consultants…name it, we are very good consultants!
Throughout history, the central role of women in the society has ensured the stability, progress and long-term development of women.
The development of the 21st century cannot be complete without looking at the feminist aspect of it. Is feminism relevant in the 21st century? “Yes…through feminism, we profer solutions to women’s problems and challenges we encounter in all the facet of our lives. We profer solutions to the government, to the International governments, so that our lives are better and the lives of our children are better.
Feminism is one of the leadership building points in most women. They speak out, especially about ills and challenges facing the women. How impactful is this in the building of women in the 21st century.
Women are encouraged to be leaders in fields such as arts, politics, economics, technology.
It is true that women should be empowered and should be independent. But also, we need the men to work with us, to accomplish our noble goals for the society that we live in.
There is a pay gap between the male and the female. We need policies, strategies, in cooperate organisations that will consider the uniqueness of women , so that we can give more and earn the wages that we have been deprived. For example; Women of the 21st century should be equipped with the ability to use applications that are remote, such that they do not have to commute long distance to work and at the same time can manage their families efficiently.
It is also very vital for women to plan their families, so that they are more efficient at work, because too many babies will not help the society and could sort of be an hindrance to advancing our careers.
Feminism seeks to create equity in the social and cultural constructs that perceive the female gender as being inferior to their male counterparts.
In the 21st Century, feminists have been involved in the fight for equality, not only in the family setup but also in society.
More women should be given the platform to air their views on various topics, this will no doubt develop and encourage more female leaders, build more of them that will be actively involved in politics.
A lot of these women still need to be exposed to more education, enlightenment programmes, various empowerment programmes, economic programmes that would make them economical independent and complement the men and self dependent such that they can be more relevant at home and in the society, especially in the area of child survival and development.
Men should also not be isolated in this effort to build the 21st century woman. They should be enlightened against the act of chauvinism…excessive or prejudiced support for one’s own cause or group, in particular male prejudice against women.. Chauvinism stems from a sense that males are superior to females and a belief women are naturally weaker, less intelligent, or otherwise less able in some capacity compared to men.
I concluded that our women are ready to take the world stage in the 21st century in all ramifications.