‘Feminism should not be misconstrued as war against men’

Feminism, which is defined by the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of sexual equality, is often misconstrued to mean a war against men.

Giving further meaning to the concept, the Registrar of the Accra Polytechnic, Mrs Rita Kaine, said, “Feminism is not a way to wage war against men or rise above them, but an advocacy to entreat people to treat both sexes the same and give them equal opportunities.”

Speaking on the theme “Feminism is not upstaging men: Ghana must change attitude towards women,” at the fourth Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS) women’s conference in Accra last Friday, Mrs Kaine said, “Feminism liberates women from the over-dominance of men in society, homes, workplaces and even in religious activities.”

Gender equality

According to her, the issue of gender equality had been misinterpreted by people in a negative way, stressing that a number of women had been made to believe that they could not do anything good in the society, hence, the need for a planned and sustained effort to attain gender equality and the need to give both men and women equal opportunities to be part of the development process.

Empowerment

Ms Gifty Anti, the Chief Executive Officer of Gifty Dansoa Anti (GDA) Concepts, said women had to stand up for their rights and not rely on others to fight their cause, adding, “As women, we have to fulfil our purpose in life by exploring our full potential and standing up for ourselves,” she said.

Rationale behind theme

Explaining the rationale behind the theme, the Women’s Commissioner of GNUPS, Ms Josephine Sarpong, said the idea was to give the polytechnic ladies a platform to interact and understand the meaning of feminism.