SIR: On March 8 every other year, the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Women. It is a day set aside to celebrate women for the indispensable roles they play in today’s world and to reemphasize why the glass ceiling everywhere must continue to crack. It also offers a fortuitous and auspicious opportunity to laud women for the extraordinary work they do in providing care in a world that couldn’t care less about anything.
Women are natural caregivers. From conception to death, every child who grows up to become and adult and runs the full cycle of life knows that care giving is a woman’s forte. It simply comes with the territory. During the two main periods when a person is most vulnerable – being childhood and old age – women are always available.
It is as biological as it is psychological, neurological and even physiological. Women conceive and usually after nine months, they give birth and the process of care and nurturing which began from the womb simply continues. It usually continues through life.
At the twilight of one’s days, when the toll of age takes its trophies, women remain. Experience has also shown that many old people prefer their caregivers to be women. For example, an octogenarian who has five children of three males and two females would most likely prefer to move in with either of his female children than any of the males. The sure hand and natural compassion of women ensure that they retain their appeal as caregivers.
Experience has also shown that in old age, it is women more than men that provide care and support to their parents.
The critical roles women play as caregivers have become ever more necessary in a world where women, children and the aged are coming under increasing danger.
Death continues to hunt women and children. According to data from Federal Ministry of Health, 145 Nigerian women die every day from pregnancy-related causes; 2,300 children below age five suffer the same fatal fate daily. These are among the highest rates globally.
On this day when women are celebrated the world over, it is only just that they are lauded and supported for the critical life-saving care they provide those who are invaluable because they have defied long odds to get to their ripe old age.
In addressing this year theme DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality, an emerging epidemic of abuse of women/girl child has emerged: rape by men, regrettable/lamentable are cases/crises of father raping and sleeping with their daughters and much more including husband abandoning/abdicating their fatherhood leadership by reducing women to cooks, housemaids/maid-guard and economic providers up to physical abuse in spite of their huge sacrifice, commitment and support to advance the family and the society. All this and much more help contribute in reducing the longevity in this age and in our ageing world.
•Ike Willie-Nwobu,
activeageing06@yahoo.com