Nigeria is not the first place one thinks about women’s rights considering that it has never had a female president and that it ranks at the 118th position in the 2014 Global Gender Gap Report. There is also the infamous case of the kidnapping and enslavement of schoolgirls in northern Nigeria by Islamic terrorists that doesn’t help the country’s image when it comes to women’s rights. However, there is a still a very positive side to feminism in Nigeria, as there some cultural issues that can be said to empower women in the society and also, more Nigerian feminists are starting to speak out. For instance, we have Chimamanda Adichie, an internationally recognized novelist who got a nod from Beyonce Knowles, an American RnB superstar, for her feminist speeches.

With regards to cultural issues that empower women, Nigeria has certain common norms from its 250 different tribes that make life for women easier. This is not to say that Nigerian culture is perfect towards women, but there are some feminist issues that the country just naturally understands;


1) The cultural duty to assist nursing-mothers (Omugwo); “Omugwo” is an Igbo term for a cultural practice that involves an experienced or elderly female relative assisting a woman from the late stages of her pregnancy up till at least, 2 months after delivery. The female relative that helps the pregnant woman is usually the mother but it could be the sister, aunt, or even the mother-in-law. This practice is common to many tribes in Nigeria and is not only exclusive to the Igbos. The benefit of this practice is that pregnant women or nursing mothers get experienced “baby-advice” and also get a huge help with their household chores and childcare. Having an experienced woman to assist with pregnancy/childcare reduces a lot of stress that comes in the early stages of motherhood.

In contrast to this, there is no cultural obligation for experienced female relatives in the West to assist their pregnant wards for months after childbirth- it is merely a choice. There isn’t a direct translation for “Omuguo” in English. To be fair, many Western women assist in caring for the children of their siblings or relatives and so, it is not such an alien custom to the West. The difference is that it is a choice in the West while in Nigeria it is heavily expected of the female relatives of a pregnant woman.


2) Having healthy attitudes to women’s sizes (especially towards plus-sized women); generally, it is common to find British and American feminists condemning their media for having unhealthy attitudes towards women’s shapes, especially against bigger women. Examples of such criticisms can be found in the “beach body” and “fat-shaming” controversies in which a plus-sized figure is seen as “abnormal” while a slim figure with a flat belly is seen as “normal” and “sexy”.

This is different in Africa, especially in Nigeria where the American/UK plus-sized is generally seen as “sexy”. To confirm this, one only has to look at some of Nigeria’s most beautiful actress-celebrities (as claimed by Nigerian fans); they are mostly bigger women that wouldn’t make it to Western fashion runways. Mercy Johnson, Omotola “omo-sexy” Jalade and Rita Okorie are some few examples.

There is even a Nigerian slang for the big body figure- “Orobo”. There is a cultural difference between Nigeria and the West on this plus-sized issue- having more flesh on one’s body in Africa is generally taken as a sign of good living (eating and not starving) and also, women with big backsides are seen as sexier.


3) Having a better attitude towards older women in the media; another issue that Western feminists have with their media is the unhealthy attitudes towards older women, especially when it comes to movies and TV shows. Recently in 2013, there was a study that found out that women over 50 in the UK were grossly underrepresented when the statistics regarding the number of male and female TV presenters were compared. Crossing over the Atlantic to the USA, the plight of older women seems to be much worse, as older actresses in Hollywood face sexist-driven ageist attitudes such as;

-being cast as mothers to women barely younger than them.
-being told that they are too old to play the love interest of men who are almost a decade older than them.

In contrast, the Nigerian film industry (Nollywood) actually fares better with older women mostly due to the cultural significance of age in most Nigerian traditions. First of all, older men and women tend to naturally command respect in Nigeria because it is culturally accepted that old age brings wisdom and maturity. Also, Nollywood rarely produces “teen romance” or “young adult” movies and so, a lot of screen time and roles are left in the hands of seasoned actors and actresses. Furthermore, the most famous Nollywood actresses and female TV presenters are in their thirties or above.

To be balanced, one can’t claim that the Nigerian media and film industry are perfect- rather than ageism towards older women, there is a culture of gerontocracy that permeates the society (which affects younger men and women). The point here is that while both the Nigerian and Western media have issues of sexism to deal with, the Nigerian media fares better with older women.



http://allnaijablog.com/3-feminist-things-that-nigeria-gets-right-better-than-the-west

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cao, standd, ishilove, Seun

Op, abeg summarize that long post. No time to read that long epistle.

Truly true

HenryDion:
Op, abeg summarize that long post. No time to read that long epistle.

Okay, what is the moral of this 'story'?

Feminism has to go! It's a distraction and I have no time for that nonsense.

Now white women ...by all means go for broke with feminism. It's their issue, but it has nothing to do with us and obscures what African peoples need to be doing.

RandomAfricanAm:
Feminism has to go! It's a distraction and I have no time for that nonsense.

Now white women ...by all means go for broke with feminism. It's their issue, but it has nothing to do with us and obscures what African peoples need to be doing.

Really?

Is that what you think?


This is one of the reasons why we are behind the west. When you ignore the rights/issues of half of the population (women) how does your country prosper?

AllNaijaBlogger:


Really? Yes, really

Is that what you think? Yes


This is one of the reasons why we are behind the west. When you ignore the rights/issues of half of the population (women) how does your country prosper?

Wait, what ....you really just said that(in bold)!
Ok now that last notion knocked me out of my posting hiatus ...goes off to the lab to construct.

RandomAfricanAm:


Wait, what ....you really just said that(in bold)!
Ok now that last notion knocked me out of my posting hiatus ...goes off to the lab to construct.

I'll be waiting

AllNaijaBlogger:


Really?

Is that what you think?


This is one of the reasons why we are behind the west. When you ignore the rights/issues of half of the population (women) how does your country prosper?

the west you support also blatantly abuse the rights of half the population (men & boys). it is not enough making blanket statements of women being denied certain rights in nigeria, mention such bias againt women.

You have too many spam comments on your site

UjSizzle:
You have too many spam comments on your site

Thanks for the tip. I've dealt with most of them already. I'm switching to google comments which doesnt have spam.

Please, add something on topic