In this adapted excerpt from his latest book, “Feminine Genes: About the Particularity of Eve,” Sudanese-born author Amr Muneer Dahab explores a woman’s reactions to people doubting her ability when she is in a position of power.

Is it strange that some societies in different parts of the world still doubt the ability of women to do everything men do in practical life? This happens jokingly in public or seriously behind the scenes. Notably, women no longer care about responding directly to such provocation as much as they continue to invade every field, with exceptional achievements that represent an automatic response to every doubt, whether it stems from a deliberate bias or an innocent or naïve act.

The differences between the sexes are still an attention-catching issue, often based on scientific and objective motives, and sometimes driven by intrigues—not always malicious—in which the two sexes exchange accusations equally.

Whatever the case, the interaction between the sexes continues in life without there being a victor and a defeated party, regardless of the reality of the differences between the sexes that seem to work in favor of each of them alternately on different levels.

Does a woman’s reaction when she is in a position of power differ from a man’s reaction in the same position?

“She is a captivating woman as she represents one of the rarest women in a world ruled by men. She said: ‘I am not arrogant, but I know how to use the arrogance of men,’” writes the British journalist and activist Alastair Campbell in his introduction to the book “Angela Merkel, l’ovni politique” by the French journalist Marion Van Renterghem. The quote is from the Arabic translation of the book published under the title “Angela Merkel: The Magic of Politics” by Jarrous Press Publishers in Beirut in 2019. The quote goes on: “She is a woman who has a private life and a very popular role at the same time. She prefers to return to her modest apartment every evening, where she lives with her husband than to live in the comfort of the chancellery.”

According to Alastair Campbell, Angela Merkel accuses men of arrogance and denies this accusation of herself. Besides, she declares that she knows how to deal with that arrogance, stressing that she knows also how to use it. The largest point here is how the heroine of the story, Angela Merkel, behaves while holding the highest political position in Germany, one of the most influential European countries with significant impact on global affairs.

In fact, Angela Merkel is just an example in the general context of women’s behavior when they hold different titles related to authority not necessarily when they hold the highest political position in a country like Germany.

In all, when it comes to the reaction of women in a position of power to people doubting a woman’s ability to do anything a man can do, it is tempting for some people to lump such reaction into the mold of excessive emotion/impulsiveness and the unbridled desire to exploit influence for pure personal aspirations.

Despite that common stereotype of women in this regard, their invasion of practical life in various fields has resulted in real and noticeable success; and most importantly, it has not resulted in any mistakes or major problems that exceed those that men fall into in turn.

Women have thus succeeded in proving that they are capable of assuming any responsibility in various spheres of practical life and positions, regardless of the presumed impact of their emotions and, particularly, their responses to men’s perception.

Even though women have proven that they can do everything men do, there is another challenge that remains, which is that the rate of women’s participation in public life should rise utterly to that of men.

To conclude, the challenges in this regard are not limited to women only. The ability/willingness of men to do everything women do at home—if both pursue a career outside the home—is not an easy question if men want to face it with absolute honesty. Have men absolutely risen to this challenge or are they still only providing individual examples of their belief in equality with women?

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Amr Muneer Dahab is a Sudanese-born passionate essayist, literary critic and poet. An electrical engineer living in the United Arab Emirates, he juggles his professional career and writing, which has birthed so far 45 books. He is a columnist in several Arabic newspapers, and he hosts a weekly piece of Wisdom Literature, “Too Good and True, You are Always Good to Go,” on the website of The African magazine.

To read more about the author, click here

Dahab’s books are available on Goodreads and Booktasters are promoting them. This is the link to a trailer on “Damn the Novel,” his first book translated into English.