A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF FEMINISM

‘…We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, ‘you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful otherwise you will threaten the man. If you are the breadwinner in your relationship with the man, you have to pretend that you are not, especially in public otherwise you will emasculate him. But what if we question the premise itself: why should a woman’s success be a threat to a man? ……We should all be feminists’ – Chimamanda Adichie at TED Show in 2013.

In 2012, the United Nations set aside October 11 as the International Girl Child Day. I think it is necessary for every man and woman out there to come to terms with the fact that the dynamics of social justice and equilibrium is incomplete without the complete and non – negotiable emancipation of the girl child regardless of ethnic, religious, and social or cultural belief. It is immoral, wicked and utterly senseless to subjugate women to any form of slavery, especially slavery imposed by men. While nature places certain restrictions upon things that may or may not be done by the different sexes (for instance, birth), we cannot but frown at the mistreatment and denotation of women as incomprehensibly weak and objects of domination by the male folk. Thankfully enough though, the world has risen to the defense and protection of women from unjust and reprehensible laws. We have witnessed in the last 100 years a radical change in the way women are viewed. Take the case of universal suffrage for instance. For many, many years women were not allowed to vote in elections. Women like Ann Dunham, 106 in 2008, once lived in male suffrage America. With the rolling away of male suffrage women have been enabled by law to vote and be voted for. We have also witnessed women in Saudi Arabia being allowed to own and drive cars, something that cultural and religious ethics once frowned at. A few years no one thought that women like Angela Merkel would emerge on the political scene at an international level. Today, Angela Merkel is the most powerful woman in the world, having served since 2005 as the German Councilor. But this is far from over. There are still sharp cultural and religious huddles that prevent the total emancipation of women in Africa, the Middle East and Asia with a good percentage in other parts of the world. America, for all her democratic credentials and freedom rhetoric, has failed in its over 220 years existence to put a woman in the Oval Office despite having a real chance to do so in 2016. This is why we insist that the emancipation of one woman should never be confused with the emancipation of all women. For instance, we have yet to come to accept the fact that women are as naturally talented and gifted as men to occupy leadership positions. I get angry when I hear people say that women are too weak to serve in the highest office in the land – the office of the President. Men have cited past instances of misadministration and corruption by women who once held political positions in the past as a reason not to accept the leadership of women in the political arena as if they themselves have fared any better. The fact remains that while certain women have not justified public confidence while they served, there is an astounding lot of women who have performed far, far better than their male counterparts. Let me remind us that the first serious clamor for freedom from colonial rule was fought by women who in 1929 in the streets of Ikot Ekpene and Aba, defied the guns and threats of the white man and marched on, angry, ready to defend their rights. We know that this single event in history known as the Aba Women Riots, led to the death of more than thirty women with several injured. Did they know the risks? Yes. Did they understand that this will cause them their lives? O yes! Question: where were the men when the women took to the streets? At no time in the history of pre-colonial Nigeria do you find men who paid the ultimate price for freedom. So the question of whether women are too weak to assume the reins of power is a non sequitur, a foolish one and is an insult by all standards.
I agree completely with Chimamanda that we should all be angry. We should all be angry that women are still being treated as second citizens with duties not so far away from the kitchen. Nigerian law has and still makes it virtually impossible for women to unleash their full potential beyond their domestic responsibilities. We live in a society where women exist at the pleasure of men, where all their lives must revolve around a demigod known as man. Don’t get me wrong here. Women were created as helpmates for the men (but we men have always thought of this help as something we receive from a ‘below us’, never an ‘equal to us’ or ‘above us’. ). This shows one thing: that man was never designed to exist by himself without any form of help. The only way women can truly fulfill this responsibility is by liberating them, for what use is a mind behind bars?

The key to emancipation of women lies with both parties. Some men are afraid and feel threatened by a freed woman. Truth is, sooner or later the freedom of all women will happen. That women must be liberated does not mean that they are to usurp authority, abuse and demean men or even their own kind. Neither does it mean that women should never have anything to do with raising a family and keeping the house. That is not liberation but further enslavement. Women must be liberated to unleash their full potentials at any level, to aspire to any level, to take up leadership responsibilities that go beyond their households. Isn’t it strange that we have women directors and administrators in top government and private organizations but scream at the thought of women serving as pastors and teachers in the church based on a supposed biblical injunction on women leading in the church? We must go beyond the charade of the so – called thirty seven percent affirmative action for women in governance, something I urge women to reject as an insult and an underestimation of their capabilities. I challenge women all over the world to continue to push through unlawful limits, embrace the baton of greatness and run through the track of destiny without any fear of molestation. Refuse to settle for anything that resembles freedom, for anything and any deal that takes away your freedom and dignity. All men and all women are born free and equal. And so today, I rise to the fight for feminism. A woman’s rise to prominence, to higher heights does not threaten my position in any way as a man. I see every woman as my equal and I don’t mind having a female boss. Come on, this thing ought to be normal by now!!!

I am a feminist. What about you?