Posted by 
“It concerns you. You just don’t know yet.” – Timi Dakolo.
Oji finished designing the International Women’s Day fliers and sent them to her manager. They had been having back and forth deciding on the right templates, so when her phone pinged and it was an approval of the latest design, she sighed in relief. She was not exactly bothered about the stress of the back and forth; what concerned her was the timeline. It was Thursday, and IWD is on Saturday, she feared her manager might not approve of the designs till the day passed. Designing those fliers was a way of lending her voice to women’s struggles, however small.
In the evening, she logged on social media to catch up on the latest gist. The first news that appeared on her feed was the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, for six months. She did not want to believe the post until after multiple scrolls and visiting several news publications. She went through triangular sets of emotions: denial, anger and helplessness. Denial, because she couldn’t believe that, in a matter of days, the accuser gets suspended without any investigation. Anger, because the accused was the one who pronounced the suspension prayers. Helplessness, because she simply did not know what to do.
Just a few days ago, Oji was silently hoping that the Senator, who had filed a sexual allegation against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, would get justice. It was one of the things that filled her desire, despite the back and forth with her manager, to design the women’s day fliers. She was hoping that, for the first time, on a political and one of the highest places in the country, the day-to-day struggles of women, would finally be investigated and exposed to everyone.
“Why am I then struggling to design the fliers? What’s the point?” She said. “It’s women’s month. A month dedicated to celebrating and publicly becoming vocal about issues concerning women, and just before our very eyes, a woman, a senator at that, was bullied out of her position, after filing an allegation, without any investigation. What an irony.”
Oji sat with the weight of it all. Every March, brands, institutions and many people around the world amplify the achievements of women, call for gender equity and champion the cause of representation. However, despite these annual amplification and seeking justice, in real-time, a woman who dared to speak up was not only dismissed but stripped of her position and dignity without due process. What message does this send to the young girl who dreams of leadership? To the woman contemplating whether to report workplace harassment? To the many who already believe the system is rigged against them?
If a senator, one with power, visibility and influence, could be pushed aside so swiftly, what does that mean for the everyday woman who has no title, no media coverage or institutional backing? What does it say about justice when a woman’s voice is more easily muted than her accusations are investigated?
Oji was angry. Her frustration mirrored a broader reality that the struggles of women are often minimised, ignored or met with hostility. She was more frustrated when a public officer said on national TV that women should be subjected to “mental health test” before they could be allowed to contest for a political office. It reminded Oji that power structures will always find ways to remind women of their place, the place where society places them. And in moments like this, some women choose silence—not because they have nothing to say, but because they have seen what happens to those who dare to speak. It is why Oji felt there was no need to share the IWD graphics or tweet anything about the bullying.
But she also felt like she was a coward. It was the silence of women for years that has allowed this to happen, she said. So she’d share the International Women’s Day graphics. “We will continue speaking up until our voices become so loud they can’t be muted.”
Women’s Month should be a time of encouragement, but for many, it becomes a season of painful reminders. Reminders that visibility does not always equal safety; that empowerment campaigns do not always translate to systemic change. That while the world says “We see you,” they are not actually listening.
The post The Irony of Suspending a Female Senator in Women’s Month appeared first on BellaNaija – Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!.
