Patriarcial impact to the downfall of empowering women

In an ever changing world, women empowerment has continued to be the talk of the town. They are many questions as to why a glut number of women continue to be suppressed and under developed. Despite those odds, they have been ways brought forward on empowering women and young girls. Kofi Annan states that there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. 
Many times, it is quite hard to believe that one of the reasons for not being empowered is patriarchy. Patriarchy has had a great impact on the downfall to empowering women. The term patriarchy is generally centred on the fact that since men, are seen and said to be the head of families, the providers, whilst women are exposed to just the caregiving and child bearing role. This has made women become very passive and docile as they are not motivated or encouraged to seek personal growth, thus it hinders empowerment. 

It is quite evident, that with the changing times, numerous family structures have been flipped upside down to having, women headed families, and as a result whether this happens by default or it is intentional this certainly calls for a need to be empowered, so that they can be able to take care of themselves, their children and not to be dependent as this gives birth to abuse. It has become essential for women to be empowered because it is the first step to recognition and it also increases the nation’s Gross domestic profit. 

They are many other reasons which have not been discussed in detail, which disable women from being empowered, for example cultural practices that require a girl child to be married early, poverty as well as socialisation that says women are caregivers and are born for household purposes.

Empowerment will only start when the source of oppression has been identified. It has to begin with a shift from providing material needs to providing strategic needs. We need to move away from giving the disadvantaged temporary needs but give them the skills which will helps them to acquire the material needs. This can be done by helping women to start projects in groups to generate revenue. Women have to be offered the opportunity to go for training courses because multiples are running businesses and working alongside men. Extra quotas can be raised to take the underprivileged girls to school. With the high rates of childbearing in the rural areas, women can start pre-schools. They can also receive knowledge on family planning and how to prevent water borne diseases and many others.

Conclusively empowerment holds onto the fact that it’s the ahbility to recognise rights, being the voice of the voiceless. It also encompasses carrying one’s success to help others to stand on their own. This is done by providing education, funds to start projects and giving skills to help provide for themselves and having access and control over resources. 


By: ​Ketty Chemambo