Steemit Engagement Challenge S8-W2 | Gender visibility and enquality.

Have you ever wondered about a world free from discrimination, a world without stereotypes? Are you longing for a world where equity prevails, one where difference is celebrated and valid? A world where women's voices are being heard and are given an equal opportunities! Oh this is what many legendaries (women) fight and striving for centuries now, but how sad 😭 it hasn't been achieved yet gender inequality persists.

I understand the term to means given equal rights and opportunities to women, it doesn't mean that we want to be the same as Men, but we need equal rights and opportunities because we are no less than men. Over centuries women have been deprived of their rights and freedom, girls' voices have not been heard, and they are often excluded right from Family, and national to global decision-making. But this has to stop! Yes together 💪 we can forge a gender-equal world.

How I Have Been Helping My Community To Forge A Gender-equal World:

^{my certificate award}

During my National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) years 2016/2017 then I was in Gender and Charity Community Development Service (CDS) Group. Our CDS falls on Wednesdays, so every week we went to Schools, Markets, and Orphanage homes to sensitize Parents, Teachers, guidance, and girls about girls'/ women's rights. We sensitized them on how to stand up for their rights when it's been tempered, women are vulnerable to amuse, sexual harassment, and human trafficking, so I helped them to identify dangers.

• I've Trained and educated high school students on child labor/trafficking.
• Creating awareness, of policies and protocols.
• Training the less privileged on how to recognize the indicators of possible child or human trafficking.
• What to do if they suspect trafficking.
• Education on how to break free from child prostitution and sexual exploration.
• Rendering of necessity to the needy.

Gender inequality starts from home, yes where certain duties or chores like cooking, sweeping, fetching water, and caring for younger siblings are assigned to the only girl child, what are you teaching your kids? To parents I've sensitized them to share house chores with both their male children and female, chores shouldn't be an obstacle for girls' education, yes every child has the right to education.

I sensitize Parents against child marriage, no matter what they shouldn't give their daughters hand in marriage below the age of 20 because this has been a major problem and barrier for many girls, you find out that so many girls already put birth before they turned 18, this has disrupted their educational development, and they eventually end up in the kitchen, this has to stop!

Where I come from most girls are not given the right to education, after their secondary education their parents will ask them to choose handwork, or get married that there's no need for them to pursue higher learning, believing that a woman place is in the kitchen, and the other room, that women's work is to be a good wife to their husbands and good mothers to their children. How sad 😢!

I've made parents understand that a girl child can become whatever she wants to become be it a president, Governor, Senator, Minister, CEO, Entrepreneur, Engineer, Doctor, Teacher Lawyer, etc, yes what a male child can do a female child can do even better, that all they need is the opportunity to excel! I normally gave them an example of women who are successful and even in power, a woman like NGOZI OKOJO-IWEALA.

^Source

She was born on 13 June 1954, a women's rights fighter, an activist who knows her right, that her rightful place is not in the kitchen, her parents invested in her, and today she is serving as the Director-General of World Trade Organization, since March 2021. She's an economist, a politician, a wife, and a mother. She was once a minister of finance, a coordinating minister for the economy, and a minister of Foreign Affairs. She carried out her duties responsibly and excellently well, so gender is not what makes a good leader but personality traits that a person develops over time.

A good leader is someone who inspired others and is a role model for his/her followers, he/she should be moderate and must motivate wherever possible Even in a difficult situation a leader must not lose hope. Women should be elected into power this will help to mitigate gender disparity, and yes it will be a way of overcoming systematic barriers to women's success.

To teachers I used to sensitize them to kick against discouraging or advising girls to take on a certain course or not simply because they're girls, no instead guide them to follow their hearts and unleashed their full potentials!

Can Celebrating Women's International Day Increase Visibility and Equality?

Yes I believe it will create a collective awareness of women's history, and understanding of inequity, discrimination, and bias. This kind of awareness will move women to take action and take a step that can bring positive change.

Are The Feminism Fight And The Women’s Rights Fight The Same?

Gosh! This is a very sensitive question, so I will be a bit cautious, as I stated before women's rights mean giving equal opportunity to women. I think feminists are fighting for women's rights too, feminism is a movement toward ending sexism, oppression, and sexual exploitation among women. Though some consider them to be extremists and many others believe that they are lesbians, the latter I can't say for sure, but in all, I think they are gender equality fighters.

CONCLUSIONS:

Women's main opponents are fellow women, and this has to stop, women need to love and support themselves and not see one another as an enemy, if we are in a prominent position we should lend a helping hand to one another to hold and get up too, not pushing them down. I have worked with fellow women before and sincerely speaking we've made a wonderful team! We've accommodated one another and accomplished what seems to be impossible! So Let Love leads, then together 💪 yes collectively we will conquer gender inequality! Thank you I would like my friends @drhira @m-fdo and @petface To participate in this contest.