I have seen it bandied about in this forum that somehow Ranome-Kuti and Margaret Ekpo were the leaders of the women's war of 1929, which was the first and most serious challenge to British colonial rule (the British, of course, downgraded it to a mere "riot" and somehow managed to virtually erase from the history books).

Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Here is an account of what truly happened. Those who led and died for that war were all Igbo women and they all had names. Their memories should be honored and monuments built to them.

Here is what happened:

There is a long history of collective action by Igbo women in Nigeria. In the 1910s, women in Agbaja stayed away from their homes for a month because they thought that men were killing pregnant women.[3] Their collective absence pushed village elders to take action to address the concerns of the women... There was also an “elaborate system of women’s market networks,”[5] which the Igbo and Ibibio women used to communicate information to organize the Women’s War.

Events and causes

In actuality, the emergence of the Aba Women's War was long in the making. Colonialism altered the position of various Nigerian women in their societies. Women traditionally were allowed to participate in the government[4] and held a major role in the market.[3] Men and women also worked collaboratively in the domestic sphere, and were recognized to both have important individual roles... While they considered the political institutions headed by Igbo men, the British ignored those of the women, effectively shutting them out from political power.[6] The British believed that this patriarchal and masculine order would establish a moral order.[3] ...

The event that ultimately lead to the war was direct taxation...
The Aba Women's War was sparked by a dispute between a woman named Nwanyeruwa and a man, Mark Emereuwa, who was helping to make a census of the people living in the town controlled by the Warrant, Okugo. Nwanyeruwa was of Ngwa ancestry, and had been married in the town of Oloko. In Oloko, the census was related to taxation, and women in the area were worried about who would tax them, especially during the period of hyperinflation in the late 1920s. The financial crash of 1929 impeded women’s ability to trade and produce so they sought assurance from the colonial government that they would not to be required to pay taxes.

On the morning of November 18, Emereuwa arrived at Nwanyereuwa's house and approached Nwanyereuwa, since her husband Ojim, had already died. He told the widow to "count her goats, sheep and people." Since Nwanyereuwa understood this to mean, "How many of these things do you have so we can tax you based on them", she was angry. She replied by saying "Was your widowed mother counted?," meaning "that women don't pay tax in traditional Igbo society."[1] The two exchanged angry words, and Nwanyeruwa went to the town square to discuss the incident with other women who happened to be holding a meeting to discuss the issue of taxing women. Believing they would be taxed, based on Nwanyeruwa's account, the Oloko women invited other women (by sending leaves of palm-oil trees) from other areas in the Bende District, as well as from Umuahia and Ngwa. They gathered nearly 10,000 women who protested at the office of Warrant Chief Okugo, demanding his resignation and calling for a trial.[2]

The Oloko Trio
The leaders of the protest in Oloko are known as the Oloko Trio: Ikonnia, Nwannedia and Nwugo. The three were known for their persuasion, intelligence and passion. When protests became tense, it was often these three who were able to deescalate the situation, preventing violence. However, after two women were killed while blocking colonial roads as a form of protest, the trio was not able to calm the situation there, the police and army were sent to the town.[3]

The legacy of Nwanyeruwa Edit
Due to her contribution to the Women’s War, Madame Nwanyeruwa is and still remains the name that comes up when bringing up the history of militancy of women in Nigeria, and has been said to be linked to the history of British colonialism.[9] Nwanyereuwa played a major role in keeping the protests non-violent. She was advanced in age compared to many who led the protests. Under her advice, the women protested in song and dance, "sitting" on the Warrant Chiefs until they surrendered their insignia of office and resigned. As the revolt spread, other groups followed this pattern, making the women's protest a peaceful one. Other groups came to Nwanyeruwa to get in writing the inspirational results of the protests, which, as Nwanyeruwa saw them, were that, "women will not pay tax till the world ends [and] Chiefs were not to exist any more."[4] Women of Oloko and elsewhere brought money contributions to Madam Nwanyeruwa for helping them avoid paying taxes. Unfortunately, many women rioted and attacked Chiefs, destroying their homes causing the revolt to be marked as violent.[10]

Madam Mary Okezie

Madam Mary Okezie (1906–1999) was the first woman from her Igbo clan to gain a Western education, and was teaching at the Anglican Mission School in Umuocham Aba in 1929 when the women's revolt broke out. Although she did not participate in the revolt, she was very sympathetic to the women's cause. She was the only woman who submitted a memo of grievance to the Aba Commission of Inquiry (sent in 1930). Today, the major primary source for studying the revolt is the Report of the Aba Commission of Inquiry. After the revolt, Madam Okezie emerged as founder and leader of the Ngwa Women's Association and working for the rest of her life to support women's rights in Nigeria.[5]

Source: Wikipedia

Strong women.

These are my definition of slay mamas

We actually need to go back to our traditional means of trading without PAPER MONEY.

There is a form of economic enslavement that comes with using paper currency whose value you do not totally control.

WetinConsignMe:
I have seen it bandied about in this forum that somehow Ranome-Kuti and Margaret Ekpo were the leaders of the women's war of 1929, which was the first and most serious challenge to British colonial rule (the British, of course, downgraded it to a mere "riot" and somehow managed to virtually erase from the history books).

Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Here is an account of what truly happened. Those who led and died for that war were all Igbo women and they all had names. Their memories should be honored and monuments built to them.

Here is what happened:

There is a long history of collective action by Igbo women in Nigeria. In the 1910s, women in Agbaja stayed away from their homes for a month because they thought that men were killing pregnant women.[3] Their collective absence pushed village elders to take action to address the concerns of the women... There was also an “elaborate system of women’s market networks,”[5] which the Igbo and Ibibio women used to communicate information to organize the Women’s War.

Events and causes

In actuality, the emergence of the Aba Women's War was long in the making. Colonialism altered the position of various Nigerian women in their societies. Women traditionally were allowed to participate in the government[4] and held a major role in the market.[3] Men and women also worked collaboratively in the domestic sphere, and were recognized to both have important individual roles... While they considered the political institutions headed by Igbo men, the British ignored those of the women, effectively shutting them out from political power.[6] The British believed that this patriarchal and masculine order would establish a moral order.[3] ...

The event that ultimately lead to the war was direct taxation...
The Aba Women's War was sparked by a dispute between a woman named Nwanyeruwa and a man, Mark Emereuwa, who was helping to make a census of the people living in the town controlled by the Warrant, Okugo. Nwanyeruwa was of Ngwa ancestry, and had been married in the town of Oloko. In Oloko, the census was related to taxation, and women in the area were worried about who would tax them, especially during the period of hyperinflation in the late 1920s. The financial crash of 1929 impeded women’s ability to trade and produce so they sought assurance from the colonial government that they would not to be required to pay taxes.

On the morning of November 18, Emereuwa arrived at Nwanyereuwa's house and approached Nwanyereuwa, since her husband Ojim, had already died. He told the widow to "count her goats, sheep and people." Since Nwanyereuwa understood this to mean, "How many of these things do you have so we can tax you based on them", she was angry. She replied by saying "Was your widowed mother counted?," meaning "that women don't pay tax in traditional Igbo society."[1] The two exchanged angry words, and Nwanyeruwa went to the town square to discuss the incident with other women who happened to be holding a meeting to discuss the issue of taxing women. Believing they would be taxed, based on Nwanyeruwa's account, the Oloko women invited other women (by sending leaves of palm-oil trees) from other areas in the Bende District, as well as from Umuahia and Ngwa. They gathered nearly 10,000 women who protested at the office of Warrant Chief Okugo, demanding his resignation and calling for a trial.[2]

The Oloko Trio
The leaders of the protest in Oloko are known as the Oloko Trio: Ikonnia, Nwannedia and Nwugo. The three were known for their persuasion, intelligence and passion. When protests became tense, it was often these three who were able to deescalate the situation, preventing violence. However, after two women were killed while blocking colonial roads as a form of protest, the trio was not able to calm the situation there, the police and army were sent to the town.[3]

The legacy of Nwanyeruwa Edit
Due to her contribution to the Women’s War, Madame Nwanyeruwa is and still remains the name that comes up when bringing up the history of militancy of women in Nigeria, and has been said to be linked to the history of British colonialism.[9] Nwanyereuwa played a major role in keeping the protests non-violent. She was advanced in age compared to many who led the protests. Under her advice, the women protested in song and dance, "sitting" on the Warrant Chiefs until they surrendered their insignia of office and resigned. As the revolt spread, other groups followed this pattern, making the women's protest a peaceful one. Other groups came to Nwanyeruwa to get in writing the inspirational results of the protests, which, as Nwanyeruwa saw them, were that, "women will not pay tax till the world ends [and] Chiefs were not to exist any more."[4] Women of Oloko and elsewhere brought money contributions to Madam Nwanyeruwa for helping them avoid paying taxes. Unfortunately, many women rioted and attacked Chiefs, destroying their homes causing the revolt to be marked as violent.[10]

Madam Mary Okezie

Madam Mary Okezie (1906–1999) was the first woman from her Igbo clan to gain a Western education, and was teaching at the Anglican Mission School in Umuocham Aba in 1929 when the women's revolt broke out. Although she did not participate in the revolt, she was very sympathetic to the women's cause. She was the only woman who submitted a memo of grievance to the Aba Commission of Inquiry (sent in 1930). Today, the major primary source for studying the revolt is the Report of the Aba Commission of Inquiry. After the revolt, Madam Okezie emerged as founder and leader of the Ngwa Women's Association and working for the rest of her life to support women's rights in Nigeria.[5]

Source: Wikipedia

Sure

waiting for the "re-writer" and distorter of histories to show up with their gang.

wow
women were strong those day...




Remember my mom told us a similar story that happened in my own village how women took the law into their hands and fight for what belongs to them...

Women were really powerful then..