feminique
War of the ages! by Ochee Bamgboye
I
t has been over 70 years since the West got fixated on sex promotion and racial equality. Scores of anti-discriminatory and affirmative movements have generated enough legislation to more or less, outlaw overt practices. But just when activists may believe it was time to put down their demonstration placards, a new type of discrimination reared its ugly head.
The Menace of Ageism In October 2006, the UK government enacted a law banning age discrimination in the workplace. A new legislation in the UK is usually a safe prediction of the extent to which an issue has become a social menace.
Ageism is a growing global menace! Ageism is a negative bias against a person or group of people on grounds of age. It includes attitudes and actions that relegate a person or group of people solely on account of their age. Ageism can take different forms but the age discrimination legislation primarily concerns the aged.
secret that most people knock down their ages to remain within the employable age bracket. When I consider our prevalent cultural attitudes towards the aged, I wonder whether we will ever reach the point of making laws to protect the older generation. So what’s this all leading to?
Our rich African culture and traditional views is set on an idealized construct that age symbolizes strength, character, wisdom and nobility.
Gerontocracy There are adult attitudes that are prevalent in our culture - adultism discrimination against those who are young. Adultist attitude takes this form – stereotypical and generalized views - that young adults are usually immature, violent and rebellious. There are therefore, possibilities of excessive nurturing, possessiveness and undue restraint, associated with this attitudinal behaviour. gerontocracy - government by the aged is fast replacing democracy as most of the ‘young’ elects in the last polls rode on the back of either a biological father or a godfather( mother) to their posts. Our educational system also bears hallmarks of cultural adultism. Our rich African culture and traditional views is set on an idealized construct that age symbolizes strength, character, wisdom and nobility. It also connotes the need not only to nurture young people into the position of strength and nobility, but to be endorsed by older associates or rela-
So what has all this got to do with us back home in Nigeria? How does age discrimination affect us? You may ask, since it appears to be one of those Eurocentric issues that have little or no relevance within our borders. To say that discrimination does not occur in Nigeria would be akin to burying our head in the sand. It is an open 66
gemwoman | July/August 2007
