My Entry, "Women in the Spotlight ✨" #08

Women are the biggest enemies of women. Of course that's true. This is not far from greedy, covetous, jealous, envious, glutinous, untamed and unsatisfied women.

You see them finding faults, speaking down and downgrading other women just to feel unnecessarily more important than they should. I hope sisterhood will forgive this set of women. Instead of being mentors, admirers, friends, sisters, meaningful, reasonable and supportive people, they turned out to be "enemies of progress." What a world.

I believe this strongly because of the stories I've heard people share. So, my mother told me a story of how a lady wanted to get married to a particular man in the city. She said, the man, in order to make enquiries, wanting to know more about the lady and her family background, "practice done in time past" went secretly to her village.

On getting there, he met a woman whom he saw as being responsible. Maybe she could help him. He told her of his mission. The woman quickly told the young man the lady's family wasn't a good family, that both her grandparents were a witch and a wizard. That she was sure the lady was a witch who might end up bewitching the man. The young man was scared. He went back to the city and ended the relationship with the lady he intended to marry.

What were the woman's reasons for doing that? Her two daughters were still unmarried. How could that lady get married before her children? Instead, she decided to destroy the lady's relationship just because of envy and jealousy.

People generally, not just women, get jealous when the feeling of inferiority complex and low self-esteem set in. You'll hear things like:

• She's better than I am

• She has a better husband

• Her children are more intelligent than mine

• She has acquired more wealth than I have

• She's more intelligent than I am

• She's more beautiful than I am etc.

Other reasons are unhealthy competitions, need to feel unnecessarily important and recognition.

That reminds me of a lady who poisoned her bestie because she had more wealthy men approaching her friend than her. I've also heard of another lady who poured raw acid on her friend because she felt she was more beautiful than her. Her intention was just to make her ugly and lose connection or perhaps even die.

I have shared some stories already. These things happen every day. You see women betraying their fellow women because of men. Very rampant in my country, a woman destroying another woman's marriage just to take over her home.

I have also heard of a woman who masterminded a woman's death because she was supposed to take over the position of manager in her office. She was kidnapped and murdered because the other woman envied her position and wanted to take over.

I agree totally with this. The stories I've shared made me realise how much some women can go just to destroy another woman because of jealousy.

It didn't start today, for those of us who are conversant with the Bible stories will remember the case of the two women in the time of king Solomon who, due to hatred and jealousy, asked that her neighbours child be divided into two because hers was dead. (1 Kings 3:16-28).

How could the child be divided without the child being dead? That's how far some women can go in order to harm others, not minding what that would cost another person.

On the whole, I know there are very loving, selfless, kind-hearted and very supportive women out there who love and are ready to go extra miles just to see another woman rise. I have had the opportunity to meet the most beautiful ones and still hope to meet them as I journey through.

Ladies, instead of being an enemy of progress, let's stand up for sisterhood, let's speak up and support each other. Being jealous and envious of each other won't take us anywhere, instead, it brings us down.
Work hard, do your best and leave no room for jealousy and envy. The sky won't just be a limit, but a starting point.

Special invitation

@ngoenyi
@patjewell
@missyleo
@tripple-e

^{Pictures all made from Canva}