IN THESE the dawning years of the third millennium, the present civilisation seems to be at its zenith. Technological achievements enable most of the people on the planet to be in their homes, however humble, and to witness epoch-making events such as Nelson Mandela’s walk out of the prison on Robben Island; the spectacular opening of the 2000 Olympics in Sidney, Australia; and the fall of Baghdad in the early weeks of the war in Iraq. Advances in medicine permit doctors to perform surgical procedures on babes yet in their mothers’ wombs, and also allows barren and/or middle-aged women to become joyful mothers of children. The explosion of information and knowledge facilitated by the wonders of the worldwide web is touching the lives of some of the poorest people on earth. Yet, for all these marvellous developments thousands, and perhaps millions of women are nowhere near to realising their God-given potential. Throughout the centuries, women’s contributions have been sound, invaluable and integral to the process of human development. In spite of this, women remain woefully under-represented in the citadels of power and governance in their communities and countries, and also in the councils of world affairs. Women are critical partners in the vast fields of agriculture, where they cultivate, glean and help transport produce, which serves to nourish not only their immediate families, but also their communities. Some of their output earns their country much-needed foreign exchange.

In urban areas, uneducated and unskilled women are condemned to the most menial, backbreaking and low wage jobs available. Even at the higher levels of employment where skills, both social and technical, are required, women are routinely paid less than men for the same work output. In both industrialised and under-developed countries, women remain the parents primarily responsible for caring children, nursing the sick or elderly members of the family and, through a series of never-ending tasks, making the home a nurturing and loving environment with all the necessary creature comforts. Whether or not they are employed outside the home, women bear the burdensome role of ensuring adequate meals are prepared, garments and household linen are laundered and children are nurtured and inculcated with the values, and attitudes that are necessary for them to maintain acceptable standards of behaviour. Daily, working women hone their organisational skills with the objective of efficiently running their homes while simultaneously navigating the rough waters of the workplace to the long-term port of their ultimate career goal. Balancing family and career demands of the woman spiritual and emotional strengths, an intuitive understanding of human relations, confidence and a healthy level of self-esteem. The pressures are even greater if the woman is the head of the household and has no support of a male, nor the assistance of members of her extended family.