Today, we celebrate yet again international Women’s Day. This year’s theme calls for gender equality, empowerment and global recognition of women’s rights. All that is good and it is something all governments, societies, employers and spouses should strive to achieve; but as we do that, let’s also try to restore dignity to the female sex, especially us women. Lately, I feel like there’s too much nudity, even among African communities that have been conservative for decades. It’s a lot worse in the developed world. Artiste Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda video has 406,230,400 views on YouTube and still counting. Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea, one a popular singer and actress and the other a rapper, also released a collabo not so long ago titled “Booty” and it has over 100 million views so far. In these and thousands of other music videos available on Internet, women, all nearly nude, writhe and shake their booties like their very lives depend on it. Some of these women have children and families and I wonder if they all sit together on the sofa and watch the videos. Do their friends and parents then pat them on the back and congratulate them on a job well done? I’m all for freedom of expression and choice, but I wonder why we blame men for objectifying women when we go a long way in shoving our busts and butts in their faces. I read about a ban on public twerking in Tanzania and I think the government has a point. I was surprised to learn that it’s actually one of their traditional dances, with many of the women even dressed in kangas, one of East Africa’s popular wrap fabric and therefore not too much skin is exposed, but still, the gyrating and posture of the dancers is X-Rated. I would like to see a world where women demand respect because they deserve it. If I were a man, I would find it hard to revere a lady whose cleavage and underwear are on show anywhere other than her home. Some women misinterpret the adage “Less is more.” I would also like to see a world where women turn down cheerleading roles and strive to head corporations instead, a world where a beauty queen is not chosen because she nailed the swimsuit category or had the best hair but because she’s driven and has sound life goals. The other thing that irks me is when pretty girls step up to kiss Grand Prix or professional cycling race winners or when skimply dressed cheerleaders entertain spectators at an NBA game. And then photographers zoom in on married male celebrities or politicians to see if they’re staring at the women! How ridiculous is that? We had an intern a few weeks ago and you could easily tell she would have done anything to land a job with our company and who knows, maybe she even gave the cookie away! I wish she had confided in me because I’d have told her that there are no openings at the moment and whoever was promising her a job was lying! Happy Women’s Day to all the self-respecting ladies out there.
