To My Dear Feminists and Critics of Defense Minister Remarks
4 min readBy Dhieu Williams, Juba
Knowingly or unknowingly, Women give up all their rights in everything they do and forget of themselves.
When the Former Governor of Jonglei state and now the Minister of Defense reportedly told the graduating soldiers in Panyier that “If you refuse to join the army, let your hair be plated and we will buy a skirt. It means you will no longer be a man, but a typical woman.”.
Whether by intention or a slight of a tongue, I don’t care.
In my own opinion, Kuol was right although it sound belittling to our western sisters and mothers.
The remarks sparked discussions and went viral on social media especially facebook.
The governor remarks wasn’t political but was made to raised the morals of the soldiers ready for men’s action.
The statement was made to annoyed or mobilized cowards youths in the towns who are supposed to protect their animals or vulnerable population in the village especially the gradmas and gradfas to go and play their role, to protect.
Commentators and critics of government official raised to their feet’s to challenge the minister saying the comment was misplaced and that the minister should write an apology.
I don’t want to answer Kuir E Garang and Amer Mayen Dhieu from Point to point but I respect their opinions and I hope these examples’ would answer all they had wrote in response to Kuoldit’s remark
Even from the start of 1983 civil war, and all able youth that time moved to Bongo or Ethiopia first for a military training and would return to come and fight the jallaba.
There were songs composed afterward to mobilized the cowards remaining youth..”Wen ke lo Bongo ban go loi” and those youth felt belittle by the songs and they decide to join their brothers and that is why there is today Independence South Sudan.
Why were those youth not asked by today critics and feminist to apologized for only calling on boys/men and not girls/women to join in the fight for the war of struggle.
When I was young and every boy would agree with me. When we were young and you came home crying and report to your mother that you was beaten up by the girl at the neighborhood.
Believed me your mother, the only being you believed would sympathized with you would jumped up and leave whatever she was doing and shout at the top of her voice,” how come a girl beat you”? go back and revenge,,”you are a man” she would remarked.
And when you return and she heard at the background your opponent crying she would be the happier person at home for your victory.
Also when it come to the evening and you try to be slow in eating with sisters or cousin sisters, your mother would bark at you (the boy) ” eat like a man” an impression that implied you are superior and you deserved.
The same thing as a child (a boy) when your mother decided tom take you along with her to any function she would desire attending and because of your small steps compare to hers, she could wanted you to increased your steps and walk quickly like her on pretext you are a man and forget your are small even in steps.
Again in the family meeting or an attempts to resolved disputed in the family, boys are given the first chance to have asays on believed that Boys are more intelligent than girls.
Even at the well attended function and you as a boy happened to speak at a low tone, girls/boys in unison would shouts at you to speak like a man.
Another typically example is when even a strange animal approached animals in the farm, the first to be sent is a boy, for he is strong enough to confront the animal lets says it’s a lion.
In past, I don’t today we used to mold soil into guns and the games we played were of fighting compare to our sisters who used to mold pots and houses among others.
Today go to the market with your children and asked them to choose their playing toys, A boy will chose a gun and a girl will choose a girl toy or a cat toy.
Blah, Blah, Blah Blah.,,,,,and many other examples.
So I like any other boy in his village grew up knowing that am a stronger being than my sisters/cousins or any other girls for that matter.
Dhieu Williams is Juba-based Journalist; Reachable : sir.williams12@yahoo.com
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