image source
Africa is the home of diverse culture, tradition and several superstitious believes.some of these traditions and believes are instigators of most gender inequality or discrimination and it is unfortunately passed down from one generation to another or from fathers to sons. Many of these traditions or believe system is of the opinion that a woman's place is in the kitchen and giving birth to children ( baby making machines) and because of this believe , it is a waist of time and money to train a girl child in school most especially in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Some learned and highly placed men in Nigeria are still myopic in thinking in regards gender equality. The first lady and wife to the present president of Nigeria once made a comment to the press saying '' my husband cabinet has been taking over by a cabal'' and when the president was interviewed on CNN and asked to comment on his wife's statement, he said '' my wife's place is in the kitchen and the other room and not politics''.probably what he meant by the other room is his bed room.
My paternal uncle's regular advice to his daughters was '' as a sign of respect, a good wife does not talk when her husband is talking and the husband's decision is final because he is the head of the house". so even when turned into a punching bag, sex slave, baby making machine etc some African women still choose to stay silent all in the name of being a good wife while dying in silence. Yes the gender equality in Africa is not as bad as before the advent of education but a lot of work still needs to be done.
Most women in Africa have been so marginalized by their husbands into obscurity that some can't even think for themselves but allow their husband to do the thinking for them.
G.D. Anderson once said ''feminism isn't about making women stronger women are already strong.its about changing the way the world perceive that strength. i believe its also about helping women especially African women in realizing this strength. what a man can do a woman can do better is not a statement that is out of context but one that speaks of the ability and strength of a woman to move grounds and the starting point is self Dependency.
if as a woman you depend totally on a man for everything even up to the air you breath then some will feel they own you and can do anything they like and get away with it .
my neighbor was in coma for 3 days and she wasn't there because of a car accident but because her boyfriend gave her a Mohamed Ali kind of punch because she forgot to remove his clothes that she washed from the line outside so when it rained the clothes became wet. when she came out of coma , she went back to his house and according to her, she loves him and she has no where else to go.
self dependency is the right place to start from!
Happy women's day.
