There’s often a general misconception between fighting for equality and trying to prove a point about the fact that you’re a woman and you can do certain things on your own.
Every woman in the world of today has a trait of feminism one way or the other and some women tend to let that term “FEMINIST” overtake their minds or they are probably seeking validation from their female friends because in their own words they can’t let a man “RIDE” them and they tend to disrespect their partner thinking that’s what feminism is all about.
If we view this from the perspective of an African we all know what the society expects from us as a married woman “SUBMISSION” to your husband and that’s in fact our culture no matter how we try to sugarcoat it, Feminism is the culture of the western people which we adopted and we don’t even understand how it works. Certain women might not agree with my perspective on feminism but feminism doesn’t mean competing with your spouse or the opposite sex, feminism doesn’t mean you can do everything.
A very good example of a feminist is a woman who doesn’t solely depend on her partner for certain things around the house, A working class woman who makes her own money, emphasis on makes her own money not make money than her husband although it’s very much possible to earn than your husband but that doesn’t make you feminist. A confident woman who’s able to speak up for herself or defend herself when need be and not insult a man because you think you’re equal to him, A woman who’s able to stand tall among her gender and contemporaries and this doesn’t mean proving who is more feminist than the other or who outshines the other.
In conclusion, competing with a man is simply screaming low self esteem and that doesn’t mean you get respected because you’re doing more than a man can do. You don’t need to be superior to anyone or bring the opposite sex down to be a feminist,All that is simply you just seeking validation or trying to prove to other women that you are big and you can step on toes simply because you’re a woman it’s just one word you’re INSECURE.
Lawal Doyinsola Oreoluwa,
Department of English, Lagos State University
