From Obama to Clinton: Racial bias and gender inequality

Sir: I would like more than anything to see more women in power in Nigeria; but I do not believe that it is the solution to gender inequality. Many will say it is a step in the right direction, but the true step is in understanding that women are unique in their own way and that does not make them less in anyway. There are good women and bad women as there are men. Just the way you shouldn’t be judged by the colour of your skin, is the same way you shouldn’t be judged by your hormones or secondary sexual characteristics.

It is my position that voting for a candidate because she is a woman is as much a case of gender inequality as not voting for her because she is. Anyone with the competency to do something should be allowed to do it irrespective of tribe, ethnicity, gender or creed; that is the spirit of a true democracy. This to me should be the centre position, not racial bias or gender inequality, which are just symptoms of a poor understanding of who we are as a people.

The African Americans thought a black President would end their racial struggle, but how wrong they were! Women and feminist activist in Nigeria should not think the same of a female President in the USA. If Hilary Clinton wins, it will be awesome that she won because there is no man or woman better qualified for the job at the moment like her, and not just because she’s a woman. So the struggle continues, but Hilary Clinton may just be giving to women what many believe Obama gave to blacks, the audacity of hope.

• Dr. Samuel Alufohai, National Teachers’ Institute,
Kaduna