Dr. Kofi Dankyi Beeko
7 March 2008
opinion
The book is entitled the "Iron Empress". The 14th Century Chinese lady ruler stayed in power for forty years, during which time her people had very little to laugh about.
Starting as the "Mistress" of the Chinese Emperor then, she craftily usurped power, by forcing the Ruler to dispose of the officiating Queen, as the very first step, and subsequently poisoning the King, (using tactics devised by even the Buddhist Monks). Her real name was U tse tien, you may just call her the Iron Empress. She is said to have been of exceptional beauty.
Isabella I of Castile, Katharina the Great of Russia, and in recent times, Margarest Thatcher of Great Britain, who also won the accolade of "The Iron Lady" may end the list temporarily before it may get too long for anybody's liking. During the debate participated in by the three aspirant-contestants of the Democratic Party in South Carolina on the 21st of January 2008, an African-American Lady whose opinion was poled on the street had this to say; "A woman? No, let a man do it. A woman cannot rule the United States. It's too much." As it turned out, the debate that night, which started on a very jocular note, and the whole collection of people, both delegates and the three Senators were in a joyous mood about, turned sour all of a sudden, between the former 1st Lady, Hillary Clinton and Senator B. Obamma.
Perhaps, it all went to say how badly one woman may want The Oval Office back, in and out of which she had often been for eight years before, when her husband was the Occupant.
In our Republic, the primaries for the major political parties ended before Christmas, 2007. One party had as many as seventeen contestants, vying for one seat, -namely to be the flag-bearer.
Missing conspicuously was a woman, any woman. I talked to a couple of dozens of women, through the fabric of our society, none in active political life, as of now. You are likely to be bluffed, just as I was hearing the reasons that came forth from our lady fold, why they did not want to join the race, and I am talking of the three main-stream political parties, and the up-coming elections.
A lady that would have had the money that was required to contest in the race for the ruling Party said, "She wasn't educated enough". She hadn't attended the University, but she is otherwise very articulate in English, and English is so important in the working life of our country. She ruled out joining the race, simple. One other lady said, "It's such a hassle?" Yet another said, with a big smile on her face, "yebe didi wo atem." She meant, "You had to be prepared to swallow tons of insults."
It was very interesting, how the excuses piled up, and it was clear, THE LADIES WERE NOT JUST INTERESTED. A few men who were asked whether, they would be enthusiastic about their wives joining the race simply replied, "No!" And why not!? "Who should look after the children?" "You would lose control of her, if she were the head of state," threw in yet a married gentleman. In other words, support for their wives, if they had the ambition to join the race was very little, if at all forthcoming.
You can keep asking, why even the ladies themselves, saw very little reason, to join. They were happy, so it seemed, to stay aside, and let the men do it, and they would just watch. Not once, did I find the presence of a Lady as Head of State in a neighboring West African country seem an inspiration, or attraction. But, don't forget, the Biblical story says, "God first created the man."
Female students'-Movements had reached palpable proportions in Europe in the seventies, ( a name like Petra Kelly, an important foundation member of the Greens-Party in the Federal Republic of Germany, as an example). A memorable slogan was, "die Welt-Politik ist heute so schlect, weil zu wenig Frauen d'rin sind." In English, " the global political situation is presently so bad, because, too few women are involved" So, where are the women today? Since that time, England has had a female Prime Minister, whose performance, it is said, could be compared, only with the World War II hero, Sir Winston Spencer Churchill. There was a Prime Minister, Tansu Ciller, in Turkey in the mid-eighties, but she did not last. In Germany, people believe the economic boom the Physicist, Angela Merkel is enjoying is a fall-out from her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder. Women seem to be in a "no win situation" either way.
The Quranic version of Creation differs not an aorta from the Biblical one. God, creating the Woman from the rib of the man implies, (so it seems), that the woman must be weaker than the man. You are looking at something small, that was taken out of something big, so that, even if one day, the something small became big also, it still would not assume the importance of the donor being-THE BIG ONE! In a way, people hardly recognize the greatness, or importance of their children, beyond their own. The Biblical story seems to be saying, "you came out of me, and you cannot be like me." Not even the biggest religious Philosophers seem able to clear the situation.
In scenarios where an offspring becomes "bigger", in terms of money or position, they will remain friends, (parent and child), only when the son, or daughter recognizes "dad" with the influence, like from the beginning. Women seem, most of them, to stay subservient to men, and see leadership roles in society, as something for men only. In Ghana, Nana Yaa Asantewaah, then a 65 year-old-Queen -Mother of Ejisu, (now almost part of Kumasi) carried "Ote-aborfre", a long locally-made gun, and led an army to confront the then British Governor of Kumasi, (Ashanti). She almost succeeded in catching the Governor.
The story is too long to be contained in this narrative. How strange, one hundred-and-seven years later, ladies, (her offspring, so to speak), cannot wear the "war gowns" for leadership roles any longer? A Chinese friend once told me, women in leadership roles in their country left only ravages behind, as if they were marauders. So, the Chinese say, "never again, man, never again," if the topic is leadership.
That cannot be said of Nana Yaa Asantewaah, and we haven't had another, associated with ravages as a legacy.
In Medicine, a couple of anatomical features distinguish women from men, or let's say, the other way round. The human brain weighs 1.5kg on the average in the man, but 1.650kg in the woman. The 350gm brain-weight advantage in the man does not reflect in terms of "mental power." Ghanaian women, whatever they study, are the starlets. This has been the experience in the Middle East too, where prices are collected, held in arms left and right, whilst the men watch on. In physical terms however, men tend to be taller, bigger, and heavier. Well, if that should count in the military, let the men take the big riffles!
Perhaps, we should not end this discussion without mentioning two women from the orient. Indira Ghandi, (RIP) was Indian Prime Minister twice, in the last quarter of the 20th Century. She performed courageously, in times of crisis in her country, in and out of power. She was always undaunted. She is remembered as once having said, "A nation advances, not on what she receives from others, but on what she creates for herself." She is said to have mended the Indian economy, the fruits of which they are reaping today.
Benasia Bhutto (RIP) was a child when her late father, Sulfikhar Ali Butto was hanged for a crime he protested to the gallows, he did not commit.
Nobody knows, whether this injustice propelled her into politics, but we all know she was Prime Minister twice, and it is said, she could have won the up-coming elections, had she lived. Weeks before she would die violently, she pronounced. "It is possible that someone might want to end my life violently.
But this is a risk I am prepared to take upon myself." The point is not instigating the woman-fold to expose themselves to danger, and violence. It however true to say, some have subjected themselves to everything in an attempt to achieve equality with men, in the society. Let us see the Margaret Thatchers, the Indira Ghandis, and the Benasias in our society. They for sure exist.
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