This is the final part of a five-part series of articles written in a male column addressed to the sisters. The author sees it as a reverse way of talking to the brothers to mend their ways in matters concerning the heart where the sisters are concerned.
A lot of women remain with men who continually disrespect and abuse them. Excuses are often made – the vow of marriage for better or worse, the effect it would have on the children, etc. But a marriage contract should not bind a woman to accept humiliation and torture from a man.
Every woman should know that she is entitled to mutual respect in a relationship and deserves to be accorded that respect. Yes, you have to compromise sometimes in a relationship, but not to the detriment of your mental and emotional health. No woman should be so afraid of being alone and let this fear to make her settle for or accommodate whatever a man dishes out to her.
Yes, we all crave to love and be loved in return, but the greatest love of all is the love of self. You have to love yourself and who you are before you can love others. You do not need a man in your life to validate your sense of being. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars, according to the poem Desiderata. You are a child of God and deserve the best of everything, including love.
Do not let any man make you feel less than who you truly are. You must say to yourself and the world “Enough is enough!” Yes, you must put your foot down and take a stand for yourself. No woman should subject herself to constantly being treated like a doormat to be used and discarded by a man.
Respect yourself, assert your dignity! You are strong and can stand alone. If the right man comes along who will honour, love, and treat you with the dignity and respect that is your God-given right, great! If not, you soldier on. You don’t need a man to validate your self-worth.
By Christopher Onyewuchi