EMPOWERING WOMEN IN THE MARITIME COMMUNITY
Harassment,
Embarrassment, Disappointment, Maltreatment; all these were what Simbi faced
not because she was an unexpected last child in her family of ten, but all
because she was a girl. A girl child lonely and sadly treading the slippery
path of womanhood. Now, Simbi is a young
woman but still, nothing has changed. However, while walking aimlessly down the
street, she met Bimsi who introduced her to the concepts of Maritime community
and Gender equality.
Bimsi
told Simbi that according to the Cambridge English Dictionary, Maritime refers
to activities connected with the sea. Then, Gender equality, the fifth
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), aims at empowering women and girls, who are
being groomed to be women. This same goal has been receiving attention through
the years and will continue to do so as according to an article by United
Nations on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), more than a hundred countries
have taken action to track budget allocations for gender equality. Girls and
women are being educated and empowered to engage in more jobs so as to prevent
them from being exploited or maltreated in any way hence, the need to empower
women in the Maritime sector, which is conventionally seen as the world of men.
The very
first way through which women can be empowered in the Maritime sector is through
awareness and sensitization of the activities of the sector. Having established
the meaning of the concepts, Bimsi informed Simbi of the activities that make
up the Maritime sector. Referring to an article titled “Nigerian Maritime Industry”
posted on January 17, 2019 on www.proshareng.com, she told her that the
maritime industry includes all enterprises engaged in the business of
designing, constructing, manufacturing, acquiring, operating, supplying,
repairing and maintaining vessels; of managing and operating shipping lines,
customs brokerage services, shipyards, dry docks, marine railways, marine repair
shops, shipping and freight forwarding services and similar enterprises. Just
like Bimsi did, the Maritime community should put efforts into publicizing the
industry and what it entails. Women should also be enlightened on the
opportunities that abound in the Maritime sector. There should be elaborate
information on the activities of the Maritime community. Doing this will make
people especially women aware of events in the industry thus bringing them a
step closer to the world of Maritime just like Simbi. Simbi thus began her
journey to the Maritime world.
Moving
on, most women have the orientation that the Maritime sector is a place for men
and this should be corrected. Only a few women, according to www.crewtoo.com,
delve into Maritime affairs thus, to enable more women do so, their view of the
Maritime industry as a man’s world should be corrected. Women should also be
helped in changing their perception of themselves and things going on around
them. They should be encouraged to view things in a positive way. This is
because without women having the right orientation, educating them is similar
to watering a plant planted on a rock. Women should also change the way they
view themselves. Simbi was also affected with a bad orientation and it should be
noted that if not for the encouraging words of Bimsi, Simbi would have given up
her journey to the Maritime world. The Maritime sector should also join hands
with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in helping to motivate women not to
see themselves as subordinate to men. They should be taught to rise and take
charge though in a positive way. It is no news that with the right orientation
to working in the Maritime sector, women will be more than efficient.
Also,
women should be encouraged to acquire quality education in the field of
Maritime for Malcolm X once said, “Education is the passport to the future, for
tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” The future of the Maritime
sector is as bright as a lark and education is the means through which women
need to access it so as to be parties and contributors to the bright future of
tomorrow. Women should be enlightened on the opportunities that abound in
getting educated in line with Maritime; they should also be encouraged to put
their all into making sure they get right and quality education. Bimsi did just
this as she encouraged Simbi and made sure the latter acquired quality
education in the field of Maritime. The Maritime sector should also make sure
that scholarship opportunities are available for women like Simbi so as to
encourage them in their pursuit of Maritime education.
Closely
related to acquiring quality education is the need to acquire training in the
field of Maritime. Trainings should be organized by the Maritime organizations
in order to improve women’s knowledge of the Maritime industry, its nooks and
crannies. During these trainings, women should be exposed to the other things
they need to know with respect to Maritime. Experienced persons in the field of
Maritime should be employed to train them thoroughly. The fees of these
trainings should also be subsidized if not free for the likes of Simbi.
Likewise, the Maritime community should put all efforts into this training so
that at the end of the day, efficient and knowledgeable women would be produced.
In
addition, women can be empowered in the Maritime sector by the changing of the orientation
of the companies themselves. Companies should not discriminate against women
during employment processes. They should not set apart jobs for women because they
think that is where they can fit into rather, women should be allowed to try
their hands at numerous jobs. They should not rate men higher than women for
when Simbi was narrating her experience during her job interview and later her
work experience to Bimsi, she kept on hammering on the point that, in her
workplace, men were rated higher and respected far more than the women who were
even fewer in number.
In
conclusion, there are a lot of opportunities in the Maritime sector thus; women
such as Simbi should be given the opportunity to maximize these numerous
opportunities to their full potentials. Doing the above will go a long way in
improving the number of women in the Maritime community. Encouraging women to
get involved in the Maritime sector will go a long way in building the
confidence of women in the society. Encouraging women to delve into the affairs
of the Maritime community will go a long way in putting a stop to discrimination
against women. Encouraging women’s involvement in the world of Maritime will go
a very long way in improving gender equality.
(This article has been sent by Akinsola Oluwademilade Oluwafemi, a women rights activist.)
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