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Letters
to the Editor
Monday, May
10, 2004
Depicting
Women as Eternal Victims
I DON’T usually read books or
newspaper articles on women written by women, because they are normally
exaggerations of the real world. Equally, I have little enthusiasm for
much of the so-called feminist debates. Beyond being a strategy for fundraising
and cheap publicity, or a sick determination to appear "modern," it is
not good to always cast the woman as the victim in some simplistic presentation
of our world as always constituting a contest of the sexes.
Many men respect women, particularly
in Africa, where there are great traditions regarding this. That does not
mean, however, that there are no abused women. It does not mean, too, that
women have contributed nothing to their own oppression by both men and
women, or that women themselves have oppressed no one.
To me, feminism only makes
sense if it means re-examining the place and role of women in the light
of the changing realities we live in, with a view to doing all we can to
maximize their unique potential and participation in society.
Women must stop whining,
pointing fingers and expecting to be treated as deserving of special attention
by anybody.
HENRY MAKORI,
Nairobi
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