BEHOLD THE WOMAN

 Written by Hadiza Babakatcha.

BEHOLD THE WOMAN

Where there is a female, there is the certitude of love and, perhaps the signs of trouble.

 This is not to cruelly balance the natural equation of existence but to properly reflect the frailties and fears of the human construction.

   "Trouble is a part of life - if you don't share it, you don't give the person who loves you a chance to love you enough" _ Dinah Shore

Female in this context is, a human member of the feminine gender. 

 

The bible succinctly describes her in proverbs 3:15-18

"She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed"

I recall the famous saying of The Prophet Muhammad "Paradise is at the feet of mothers." (In Al'Nisa'I, Ibn Majah, Ahmad).

"It is the generous (in character) who is good to women, and it is the wicked who insults them."

Love and trouble are like two sides of a coin, the experience can be sweet and also bitter, smooth and rough, it all depends on the side you are treading and the emotions you court. A vixen in the space of one man, can be a dove in the arms of another man. As they say, you get what you deserve.

  

In the African culture, a female is the epitome of beauty, love, happiness, humanity, peace and consideration. She is the ultimate home maker, the treasured server of joy and kindness to others, the soothing balm that tends to the broken spirit of family, friends and neighbours with uncommon gentility.

Indeed, where there is a female, there is a thick atmosphere of warmth, a general feeling of conviviality that bonds both the kindred and the strangers. 

This rare magic oozes from the inner base of her being which also harbours a blazing sting for ungrateful hands.

In Nigeria, being a female has its own varying challenges emanating from unfair societal expectations and strict parental controls that a male child is often shielded from. The typical African woman wears the unseen but prominent strings that are pulled in different directions according to the strictures of her parents.

However, a female in Nigeria is also synonymous to love and tranquility, a mobile hall of hospitality, comfort and patience. She is undoubtedly a beautiful creature imbued with elastic tolerance. Her brand of feistiness is a direct response to the band of men lobbed with idiocy and insensitivity!

Even in the realm of the pure sciences, Newton's third law of motion states that for every action, there is equal and opposite reaction.

These qualities understandably accord women the credit of bringing forth life in its kaleidescope. 

Love and trouble are essential in our day to day activities, as the American singer, actress and Tv personality, Dinah Shore puts it, by sharing our trouble, we give our loved ones the chance to love us enough, to respect us deeply and live through the discomforts of life within a shared entity. 

Men must live peacefully with women and women must be allowed to flourish beyond the ugly biases and distorted fantasies of the dominant few in our world.

That is the only way to keep the human mind, the flora and fauna and the general orbit in a state of bliss and relative ease.