The Challenges of Women in Society

By Yusuf Habeebah

Women are an indispensable force in society. And it’s an indisputable fact that the progress and success of a society equally, if not largely, depend on the roles women are meant to play in the society.

In other words, the societal roles of women
determine how progressively successful a society could be. They are the nucleus of society. The workability of any practice established in a society could be measured with women’s (direct or indirect) active participation in it.

However, despite being as mentioned, women are still faced with a lot of challenges in society. They are perceived as weak vessels that can be tampered with. Their vulnerability is being manipulated and exploited in our society. Their importance is not being given necessary significance. Women in our society are unfortunately not being accorded deserved fair treatments. Challenges the women in our society are faced with cannot be exhaustively discussed. Nonetheless, I will briefly confine my points within the most notable and conspicuous ones.

It’s no more strange to hear or read that women are being sexually assaulted in society. A piece of news which should sound weird has gradually become everyday information. Sexual abuse of women has now become an everyday event. Women, to whom the society should be respectful, are now objects of ridicule. Raping women is now the order of the day in our society.

Another common unpleasant habit of the society towards women is domestic violence against them which takes different forms, including emotional, sexual and physical abuse, and threats of abuse. This (violence) is most often directed to women by their partners. This affects psychological and intellectual development of women, which in turn, hinder them from having some positive impacts both at their immediate home, and the society at large.

Furthermore, women’s access to education is limited and constrained by bounds. Some women with strong intellectual strength are, in some societies, not availed of the opportunity to discover and explore their potentials. This, undoubtedly, is a serious disservice to them, as they have been technically denied the opportunity to contribute to the development of the society.

In addition, women are given little chances into higher governmental positions. They are looked down upon mostly presumably because of their physical appearance. Plus the fact that, it is believed in our society that women are meant to be at home and care for the family. It’s true that women’s primary assignment is home-related, yet necessary opportunities need to be accorded to them to showcase their intellectual strength and mental powers by including them in some activities related to decision making in the society. This, I believe, will facilitate the progress of the society.

To this end, it’s not fallacious that for every successful man, there is a woman. Thus, if women could be this productive to the success of men, I strongly believe that should they be given some better opportunity or chance in the society, they will make a magnificent difference.