Using challenges to advance women’s rights

What you need to know:

For your information, women are not allowed to drive. However cycling was legalized but women are only allowed to cycle in parks and beaches with male guardianship.

I came across this article in the Guardian, a UK based newspaper on how cycling is keeping the fights for women’s rights moving. In Saudi Arabia, male consent is still very important according to the article.

For your information, women are not allowed to drive. However cycling was legalized but women are only allowed to cycle in parks and beaches with male guardianship.

Strange stuff huh? Well, women have found a way to fight for their gender rights in this cycling. One woman, Baraah Luhaid has managed to organize a women only community and through that they have come up with a cycling shop, café and workshop.

She uses this to advocate for women’s independence. So you see in the face of patriarchal system, we can still turn things around just as Baraah is doing in Saudi Arabia. I know as a woman that we have many challenges and many are originating from gender stereotypes. There are even silent rules in certain places about things woman should do or not do, say or not say. In most boardrooms, women who voice their opinions have been viewed as threats.

In most cases women are expected to sit quietly and hear what the men have to say. But you know what, you can find a way around this and make things work out. For instance, you can start doing things in your organisation which positively impacts on the results.

This way, you will channel your energy positively in turning things around instead of complaining of how chauvanistic people you work with are. This is not the time to complain any more about gender challenges at home, work in the society but to try and turn things round in women’s favour.

For instance, if most women in your neighbourhood are unemployed and are subject to gender violence from their spouses, you can find time and talk to them and help create awareness about gender-based violence.

You can then take them to the community leader to report the case. From there, she will go and educate her peers and soon they will be acting towards ending this violence instead of just keeping quite.

And if many women in your community are un employed, you could just take two and talk to them about the importance of financial independence. If they show that they are willing to do some business, you could inform them about micro-financial institutions you know giving small loans to women.

And push them to go, it will be worth a try. So let’s use our challenges to achieve women’s rights in the society.