Here is what women’s day means to our Tutor & Resources Manager, Ntasuwila
Question: What does International women’s day mean to you?
Ntasuwila: Women’s Day is a day to commemorate women’s freedom from toxic patriarchal societies, and in places where such freedom has not yet been realised or places that are regressing in this movement, it’s a day for us to reflect and keep pushing for these injustices to come to a stop. Growing up, I’d hear the phrase ’It’s a man’s world’ thrown around a lot. Because of that, I did not appreciate James Brown’s song and never bothered to listen to it.
When I did listen to it, I was glad to find that many had missed the essence of the song. A line in the song says, ‘This is a man’s world, but it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl.’
The reality, though, is that this world needs both men and women. And that, I think, is a key fact about feminism that has been overshadowed by many layers of arguments. We’re not pushing for arbitrary arguments like who is stronger, faster, or smarter between men and women; we do not need to hold debates on who should wash dishes, cook, or clean because any level-headed person should realise that such arguments are subjective and cannot be presented as one-dimensional arguments. We are simply asking that women of whatever race, colour, or creed should be judged according to their individual character and abilities and not based on their gender.