Understanding the 21st Century African Woman

A comparative analysis of African women

There is a lacuna in the history of mankind without features and debates assessing the important roles played by women, either in their homes, national/international politics and in the war fronts. The various wars and conquest of Queen Amina of Zaria can still be grasped from the pages of history and this serve as a clear indicator that the resilience of the African woman is not a new deal but inherently imbued as long as the human race.
From the earliest time of African participation in state politics, we witnessed the emergence of women contesting for political offices or supporting the candidacy of a male contestant to win electoral positions in the polls. In contemporary African politics, women forms the bulk of the electorates who votes during an election. It is a candid fact that any candidate aspiring for any position that is endorsed by the women circle will definitely emerge a winner.
In the sphere of economic agitations and nationalist struggle, African women played pivotal roles and contributed their quotas. The Aba women riot of 1929 is a significant factor in this discourse. Women protested and rioted against the harsh economic policies of the imperial powers and they corrected the ills of draconian policies.
In the field of arts and crafts, women thrived and excelled in their various endeavours. The beautiful pottery works of Ladi Kwali gained international recognition and patronage.
However, in 21st century Africa, a diversion and clash of interest is gradually gaining momentum between the African women, their supposed husbands and even the African child is not left out in this milieu. The rich African cultures and traditions are no longer observed or adhered to but African women seems to imbibe and infiltrate Western cultures to their own detriment.
A canvass for gender equality is not an aberration but it becomes a taboo in the African context if women assume and play the roles of the head in a family; giving orders to her husband maybe as a result of financial supremacy, personal acquisitions and wherewithal.
The husband is relegated to the position of a toothless bull dog in his own home.
Sadly, this misbehavior is most glaring in the homes of the learned women. Education should not be a paradigm shift for disobedience in the family. Many ‘enlightened’ African women tussle the position of authority with their husbands thus paving way for rising cases of domestic violence in their homes.
This should be however be noted, domestic violence is not peculiar to women, many African men are tagged weaklings as a result of maltreatments and physical assaults by their wives.
Another case study lucid and practiced by the present day African woman is the complexities and rationale mirrored by the comprehension and practical utility of gender equality. This has led to the break up of many relationships and divorce in marriages. The illogical beliefs by some women of African descent that a ceteris paribus rating of life style and shared authority must hold sway in their homes is a cosmopolitan error. Shockingly therefore, it is pitiably annoying that even those living in the rural areas seek to practice the ideology of inimical comparison of non mutual shared responsibilities between them and their husbands.
The foregoing scenario is a timely tracker to the incessant cheating and the growing infidelity in marriages.
Be that as it may, it is an undiluted fact, that the roles played by African women on a general scope or scale of assessments/ reference can not be overemphasized but it is pertinent they take clues from their ancestors.
The rich marital African culture which depicts trust, patience, resilience, sincerity, loyalty and reverence for their husbands should not be thrown to the winds.
Recently, there is a trendy shade of undue ignorance reflecting on the social media with a crude hatch tag of #WivesNotCooks meaning wives are not meant to be cooks. On a personal regard, this is tactically championed by evil angels from the pit of hell because the same women would complain in the long run about their husbands getting married to their house maids. It is natural for men to fall in love with their cooks because “the way to a man’s heart is his stomach”.
On the whole, it is advisable that the 21st century African mothers should unite efforts, time and limited resources to train and educate the girl child. The rich African marital culture and traditions should be revived and impacted to the young girls to prepare them for the much anticipated task of marital life and the desired joy of motherhood.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I always find it very interesting to get a firsthand account of how things are in other countries that we never hear about here in the USA. You've painted this scenario with good details & I'm coming away with the impression that there are struggles between women who do not want to be bound by gender roles & men who are taking this personally as an assault to their manhood. Frankly, such a viewpoint is disturbing to a thoroughly independent woman (never married, worked a good career for 30+ years, etc) like me. But you've done a good job of showing us how things go & what the social impressions are.