Woman

In this month dedicated to women, we contacted some young women, girls aged 14 to 17 years, from GOUNOU-GAYA in Southern Chad.

In general, in many African settings, the woman is the one that ensures the survival of the family. But unfortunately, she is often ignored and her contribution is considered secondary. Sometimes it is only because of her usefulness that she remains in the household. Even if she is capable of much, and can stand up for herself in society, the man considers her to be inferior and in some cases she herself contributes to this mentality.

We must remember that, in this context, girls are destined to marry early and often against their will. Those who attend school are privileged and protected because they have the opportunity to grow physically and are able to express their opinion about their future. This means that there is an awakening of the place of women in African society.

In the months of November-December 2010, when visiting our sisters in Cameroon and Chad, we had the opportunity to learn about their many ministries. That is how we found ourselves in the secondary school of Gounou Gaya which they run. This school was the brainchild of the sisters and some parents who were concerned about the promotion of girls.

These girls were given a topic for reflection by their teacher asking them to comment on this sentence: "The first quality of a woman is docility!”

Here are some answers:

BASHIR Sara wrote:

Nowadays, it is not normal that the woman is always submissive. She has the right to speak freely; she should not always accept orders; she has the right to say what she thinks because she is responsible for the family and may have better ideas than men. Women should not let themselves be dominated by men, even if the man wants the woman to submit to him.

Odette SOTOUKSI

I think it is wrong to emphasise docility as a primary quality of women because it focuses on inferiority and that is no longer acceptable. In today's life, man and woman are equal. There is no question that women are still subject to men. Even if they still feel superior and want to show it by dominating, women must stand up for themselves and assert their freedom and right to be the equal of men. Today, there are many women who are able to undertake the same duties as men and do them even better. We see women presidents of countries, ministers, police officers, mayors, doctors, nurses ... They are, above all, mothers and therefore educators of all nations. For this reason, they must train their male children to understand that both genders are equal and to banish the superiority complex that supports the idea that the woman who gave him life, is inferior to him.

Catherine Katou Ngoun

The docile woman is an obedient woman and submissive to whatever her husband says to her. This would mean that the husband is always right. However, things should not continue to be so. Obedience must be mutual. The man should respect the woman and the woman should do likewise. Should the woman who feeds her family by her daily efforts and who is with a man who does not have many opportunities to support his family control her husband and create conflicts in the family? No, the woman needs to be respected and treated as an equal.

In that way, life in society will be better.