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Equality: an opportunity to embrace abundance

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Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar was born in Cape Town and raised by his determined mother, grandparents, aunt and the rest of his maternal family. He is an admitted attorney (formerly of the corporate hue), with recent exposure in the public sector, and is currently working on transport and infrastructure projects. He is a Mandela Washington Fellow, a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, and a WEF Global Shaper. He had a brief stint in the contemporary party politic environment working for Mamphela Ramphele as Agang CEO and chief-of-staff; he found the experience a deeply educational one.

People who are articulate strong views and are passionate are always able to wow the crowd. However, those fleeting moments do not carry the day or replace substance, and it is important not simply to be inspired, but rather that we should be moved into action. It is only in this way that we can experience the richness our humanity has to offer.

These past two weeks I have participated in two conferences and I have the distinct feeling that I am now ‘out-conferenced’. The engagements at these events are fascinating; however, what I find is that the informal discussions or those conversations held after the daily conference programme has run its course are often far more interesting and meaningful than the so-called ‘main events’ or ‘plenary sessions’.

The informal discussions provide a trusting and honest space, which allows for robust discussions about xenophobia, migration, and integration on the African continent or the constitutional and rule of law issues plaguing Burundi and the proposed third-term that Mr Kagame is embarking on in Rwanda.

However, an unspoken issue that seems to be the undercurrent of our engagements is that many people are entrenched in their views and they operate from that position without any interest of being moved to accept the other side.

The conversation as a result of this denial is so polarised that it is difficult to engage in meaningful dialogue, which in turn defeats the very point of talking to each other.

The Namibian First Lady, Mrs Monica Geingos, shared her wisdom this past week with a collection of young Africans from across the Southern Africa region. Mrs Geingos is new to the position and was able to speak frankly as she didn’t yet feel bogged down by protocol and ‘double-speak’ and more importantly her ‘handlers’ or as she called them “subordinates” had not yet managed her.

Mrs Geingos is not only the First Lady of Namibia (a recent ‘acquisition’ from her wedding early this year to the Namibian President Mr Hage Geingob) but she is also a businesswoman, and is the CEO of a large private equity firm in Namibia.

Mrs Geingos reflected on the “schizophrenic nature” of our society and more particularly how we are all wearing more than one hat.

Mrs Geingos went onto reflect on her own journey of being a skilled woman and glibly commented that given the fact Namibia was such a small country, its human capital was a scarce commodity and so, in many ways, a skilled women like her would obviously rise to positions like she has because there weren’t that many to choose from in the first place.

Last week, I wrote about how South Africa did not only have broken men and women leading our country but also that we have a broken society that is struggling to be and also struggling to articulate its own sense of a future.

These past two weeks have reminded me about the risks of trying to deny the lived experiences of so many and also an unwillingness to either engage in the conversation or an unwillingness to even acknowledge that lived reality of so many people.

Grand gestures, of course, are simply not enough. People who are articulate strong views and are passionate are always able to wow the crowd. However, those fleeting moments do not carry the day or replace substance, and it is important not simply to be inspired, but rather that we should be moved into action.

A concerning feature of these past two weeks has been the fact that a gender equality discussion was not part of the main plenary sessions but rather was an optional side session and even more concerning that there was a lack of female representation in those plenary sessions. We have a long way to go still.

The problem with having a gender equality discussion as an optional side event is that the room was filled with mostly women and only a handful of men. This is not the first time forums have been faced with this except to say that conversations of this nature must begin to take centre stage and not simply be relegated to a side room.

The only way that we can meaningfully address issues such as gender equality, inequality, poverty and privilege is if we are bold enough to make this the main ‘meal’ and not the sideshow.

The inalienable truth is that we have a shared humanity and the denial of some, sometimes at the expense of others, is unsustainable and in turn creates all the elements for resentment and ultimately for repercussions.

Bold declarations are no longer enough. Mrs Geingos, and others, may be inspirational but the fact remains that we cannot mitigate the role that we have to play.

The world we live in is not simply going to change because of a few words by an older generation, but rather, it will require each of us to put our shoulder to the wheel.

The moment will require all of us to move from our entrenched views and begin to accept that there are alternative views and more importantly that ‘classifications’ such as male, female, black or coloured do not simplify issues but rather they recreate flawed assumptions.

And these are assumptions we can ill afford in these difficult times. Those classifications, at best, are fleeting, as they are underpinned by the normative culture that exists at the time and the amount of privilege and power that is used in order to make those classifications important.

This moment is not fleeting, but rather what it requires from all of us is to lead, and to do so by challenging our own prejudices. This moment requires us to confront our sometimes-polarised perceptions and views and replace them with a more nuanced and reflective approach.

The world is a complex, intricate and a layered space, and if we are to confront important issues such as gender equality, poverty, inequality and privilege – we must begin to realise that the world has no time for fleeting interests but rather a concerted and resolute effort. That is the only way real change is made possible.

Mrs Geingos made the important point that indeed we lead schizophrenic lives, or rather, that we lead intricate lives that require us to discard the allure of fleeting moments. It is important, rather, for us all to embrace the complexity and abundance that is on offer. DM

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