Sunday, March 8, 2026, was International Women’s Day and the theme was “Give to gain”.
I don’t know what else women can give. They have given and continue to give a lot. In the last half-century, women have gained a lot, manifested by laws against sexual violence and for property rights, as well as more girls in school than ever before.
There has also been advances in the area of political rights and inclusivity. Despite these advances, a lot remains to be done. Last week, one of my patients gave me a lesson in the patriarchal world at work.
She is in her early 80s. She informed me that her children had taken her car keys from her because they worried about her ability to drive safely. I thought her children were being proactive and reasonable. When I said so, she said, ” My husband is 5 years older, in poorer health and has poorer eyesight.
Why didn’t they take his keys too?”. She had a point. Last week, I read the possibly apocryphal story of landlords in a suburb of Accra who demand sex in exchange for rents.
There have been well-known cases of professors demanding sex-for-grades and employers demanding sex-for-jobs and getting away with. Indeed, even the UN’s own staff sent to warzones like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to protect the vulnerable have been accused of abuses.
The Epstein cases and the “I BELIEVE HER” movements have highlighted these issues. The fight for Women’s emancipation is a fight for all of us, not just for women.
After all, they are our daughters, sisters, wives and mothers. Let’s wish all our women well and stand with them as they fight for equality.
Unfortunately, they are a bit of hypocrisy in this fight. Organizations set up to fight for women and equality have shown a disturbing penchant for abandoning women for ideological or political goals. Happy INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!
