Do We Really Need Each Other?

I was on a radio show yesterday – Joy 99.7FM‘s Corporate Hang Out – with a couple of friends. The show is relaxed and easy going, and is supposed to allow people in the corporate world unwind and tell others about how their week has been. The show has no particular structure and the discussion can be on any topic – I mean any topic at all. And that is exactly what happened yesterday.

I cannot recall exactly what happened but all I do remember is that after the brief introduction of the panelists, the topic of discussion then veered into “singleness” and whether women needed men and vice versa. I was the first to admit that I would need a woman as a life partner, a companion, etc and I also admitted that I was in a relationship. The other panelists on the show happened to be women, who vehemently opposed the idea of women needing men (but interestingly, not the idea of men needing women). Their argument was that “we cannot say women need men because it suggests that without men, women are nothing.” The lead advocate against the idea went as far as to say “I am embracing my singleness.”

There are various degrees of relationships in this world and at every point in time, we may need someone, be it a man or woman or both. Both sexes are interdependent on each and that is how we are engineered as human beings. In terms of a romantic relationship, both sexes need each other to have kids, to raise kids (although I acknowledge single mothers and fathers), to take care of the home and in modern societies, to be an economic unit that sustains the family, both nuclear and extended.

In closing the gender gap, it has been realised that women alone cannot lead the fight to achieve gender equality around the world. The HeForShe campaign is the best example of why both sexes need each other. The HeForShe campaign is a solidarity movement for gender equality that brings together one half of humanity in support of the other half of humanity, for the benefit of all.

I will therefore conclude by saying we all (both sexes) need each other to make the world a better place. We need each other in every way possible to sustain human development and existence. Let us embrace assistance when it is offered rather than shunning it. Let us offer assistance when it is within our power to do so rather than holding it back.

And I am also for #HeForShe!