“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to that idea” – Robert Heilein
Woman- wife, mother, sister, leader, teacher, warrior.
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Limiting
women, to just the kitchen, in 2013 is not only oppressing but it is
discriminatory. Everyone belongs anywhere. Are there male chefs? Male nurses? Male
nannies? Yes, there are. We, woman, do not expect men to still hunt. As much as
it is expected in most cultures that women be the caregivers and the domestics,
it has become a social norm to expect woman to still and only be what our
great-grandmothers were i.e. domestic slaves.
It
has been said that it is a man’s world and woman just live in it. Well, we do
not just live, because according to some men, we are here to serve and cater to
the male species. Such notions drive feminists crazy.
“Woman
is not born fully formed; she is gradually shaped by her upbringing. Biology
does not determine what makes a woman a woman- a woman learns her role from man
and others in society” – Simone de Beauvoir (http://www.sparknotes.com).
Women
have been cocooned to fit into specific roles that do not seem “manly” enough,
therefore should be passed down to the opposite sex. Expectations are set for
children at birth already. If you are born a boy, you are dresses in blue and
are bought car toys and are expected to protect and provide. If you are born a
girl, you are dressed in pink and should play with dolls and are taught at a
young age how to cook and clean as preparation for your domestic duties as a
wife.
Feminist
and Literature lecturer at Midrand Graduate Institute, Mary-Anne Potter: “For
previous generations, it would have been acceptable to say that a woman’s place
is in the kitchen. However, the same cannot be said about our experience of
womanhood today. My mother and grandmother were expected to embrace their
domestic roles, but, for me, I was raised into a world where what I choose to
be is important. For women today, choice has enabled us to embrace a life that
is entirely our own. Yes, we choose to be a homemaker, which is a remarkable
and often undervalued profession, but we can also choose to be a doctor, a
journalist or a lawyer.”
“Even
as we celebrate Women’s month, gender-specific issues seem to have been
overshadowed by what matters most- men and their power struggles. Women are
still forced into low-paying, insecure and unskilled jobs, and are often paid
less than their male co-workers” Rune (2013).
To
this day, women still sacrifice their own advancements in life in so that they
can concentrate on looking after their homes, children and husbands. Many women
do not know that they are not bound to just being a housekeeper. Women have
brains too and as much ability as men. The kitchen is where we prepare meals
made of love, not under duress. Women are now breadwinners and sugar-mamas
and some men are now stay-at-home-dads or house-husbands and nannies “mannies”.
Moving
towards full emancipation of woman in South Africa has not been a smooth
progression. We are not there yet.
According
to (http://www.timeslive.co.za), a new
bill to fully emancipate South African women is fully underway. Minister of
Women, Children and People with Disabilities was quoted in a speech prepared
for delivery at the launch of Women’s Month in Freedom Park, Tshwane saying “Women
still face injustices. The injustices require us women to form a united front
to continue with the struggle for the total emancipation of women. The Woman
Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill will provide a number of legislative tools
to help achieve gender equality”.
Women
do not belong in the kitchen. They belong in every room of every building.
Sources Consulted:
Rune, M 2013.
“Oppression of women is holding back our
democracy”. Sunday World. 18
August, p. 15
Spark Notes.
2013. The Second Sex: Important
quotations explained [online]. <Available>http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/secondsex/quotes.html
Times LIVE.
2013. New bill to emancipate South
African women- Xingwana [online]. <Available>http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2013/08/03/new-bill-to-emancipate-south-african-women-xingwana
