Women Take Charge of their Future

On October 12, 2012, a woman in Botswana and her sisters won the right to own their own home. Gender discrimination based on an obsolete customary law prevented Edith Mmusi and her sisters from claiming ownership of their family home and ceded this right to a nephew for the simple reason that he is male. A judge’s ruling made it possible for them to overcome the age-old Ngwatketse customary law which allows the youngest son to inherit the family home. We gather that the nephew is not too happy with the ruling. Tough luck!

Here is what the (male) judge who presided over the case had to say:

It boggles my mind how the creation of an equal society (in terms of rights) can be prejudicial to anybody or be contrary to public interest. It would be tragic to interpret the Constitution in a way as to take away or reduce rights of other human beings solely on the grounds of sex.      High Court Judge Oagile Key Dingake

And in other related news, men were charged extra at a coffee stall in Wellington, New Zealand to draw attention to the differences in pay: women are paid 10 per cent less than men. So the men were required to pay a bit more than the female customers.

Something to chuckle about, but also to applaud as women take charge of the future.