STRENGTH OF A WOMAN

Women are powerful creatures. Many believe they are probably the most powerful of God’s creatures. (I know I do).They can be a whole lot of things, from mother to wife to friend to lover, and so much more.

But don’t get me wrong, men can possess similar characteristics too, but there is a special way about how a woman does it that makes it worthy of mention.
The things she must overcome are endless; still she manages to conquer, sometimes through self-sacrifice. Even the love she exhibits (naturally) can be mind-boggling.
That is why people talk about strength of a woman with respect and awe. However, when we talk about strength as it relates to women, what sort of strength do we refer to? Is it the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual? What is strength anyway?
Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary defines strength as the ‘quality of being strong; power and influence that somebody has; and an ability that gives a person or thing an advantage.’ These definitions outline the attributes possessed by a strong woman.
Designer Kimora Lee Simmons interestingly commented in an interview, that "Women can do everything a man can, except for something stupid." (Though I must confess, that’s a bit extreme). It’s easy for us to talk about the strength of a woman now because women have achieved a certain level of recognition (though we’re almost there). There is however a long list of women to thank for this. Names like Condoleezza Rice, Hilary Clinton, Benazir Bhutto and Oprah Winfrey readily come to mind. These women re-wrote history, having displayed characters strong enough to penetrate gender barriers and race discriminations, plaguing their different societies and cultures. Oprah grew up at a time when people were judged by colour of their skin. Black women had no place in the system then. Moreover, despite being sexually abused as a youngster, it did not deter her from becoming one of the most influential women in the world today. Similarly, late Benazir Bhutto’s religion frowned at women being seen in public places, not to mention becoming politicians. Traditional Islamic women drape themselves from head to toe in their hijab exposing only their eyes and palms. Yet history records how she went on to become the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan. In addition, Hilary was not content with being ex-first lady but aimed at becoming the first female President. With these examples, are women still the weaker sex? Men who judge us as weaker only achieve a level of success without women, while it is the reverse for women like Oprah and Condoleezza, whom we know succeeded standing alone. I wonder how far would Barrack Obama would have gone without the support from his wife Michelle, who quit her job to support his campaign. I’m sure Obama will testify to the strength of a woman, having being greatly influenced by women all his life. Women need men to love them, but men need women to make and complete them. However, sadly a woman is never loved, never respected, and never appreciated enough.
But one man I respect is the Spartan King in the movie "300." He addressed his wife as ‘My Queen,’ sought her blessing before going to war, and acknowledged that only a Spartan woman can give birth to a Spartan man. I think every man should take a cue from him and sing along with shaggy and say “so don’t you underestimate the strength of a woman”. So if you know one or better still have one, love her in a hundred ways.