THE RECYCLING PROCESS OF CHAUVINISM IN NIGERIA
Big grammar again. This simply means 'why we still have aggressive men in Nigeria'. Men who do not want women to rise, whether to their status or not. In this article, I will be writing about my personal experience with chauvinism at its crudest form
Yes, we have modernised chauvinists. The working class or influential men who would not allow their wives to start up a business or do anything financially or mentally productive. The Christian CEOs who would have a male PA because they don't want to be seduced. Seduced by what their eyes exclusively collaborated with their minds to 'see'. We also have the fathers, brothers and sisters who will say unbelievable things purported into the cacophonies of phrases like: 'don't you know that you are a woman?', 'I am a man, so...' 'Behave like a woman' 'It is a man's world', 'Be submissive', etc. I have an advice for this bunch of fellas and I won't ignore any of the details.
I went to announce a religious program in a boys' hostel here in school. I am a Publicity Aid in the campus fellowship. So, the normal way of greeting is 'good morning, good morning brothers in this hostel...'. My brothers and sisters, I haven't even said the second 'good morning', an army of boys hollering and advancing menacingly towards I and my sister in Christ set my heart at the adrenaline stage! They were shouting at me that I was 'foolish and stupid' to make an announcement in their hostel. One ignoramus even chipped 'do we make announcements like this in your hostel?'. By 'like this', he meant two girls standing at the lobby close to each entrance to make announcement. I was bewildered. They even threatened to beat me if I breathed a word. A wise guy among them asked a very important question which I must ask; 'Why don't you listen to what she has to say?' Yes. This question couldn't be answered by young, energetic men who have had their brain programmed in the chauvinistic language. I only left them with this question I asked in a loud pitched voice: 'Is it because I am a woman?'. My sister in Christ dragged me away, pleading as well as saying that she had warned me beforehand.
Back to the chauvinists: Do you understand that feminism is not a word but an action? The reason why 80% of men are aggressive is due to the fact that you have successfully convinced them that women are bound under some unorganised yet comprehensive constitution which dictates what, how, where, when and to whom to behave as a woman? I hope you do realise that subconsciously, you have always said those words I earlier mentioned in the presence of males? Young, vulnerable and curious males who are adapting to this environment? I do not want to be over emphatic about the height of your actions- I want to only stress on their weighty consequence.
When you tell a boy that his sister is to wash plates, do laundries and cook dishes, through out his formative years, you end up teaching him that any woman who doesn't do such is less deserving of her sex. When you teach young girls to be 'submissive' without specifying or tearing the veil of submissiveness, you are indoctrinating them with the belief that they should be shock absorbers, punching bags and owners of closed mouths when the men to whom they should be submissive become abusive! Even as I am writing this, two crazy guys are calling a female student 'ashawo!' for wearing a boy shorts into their hostel!
Impunity hiding in the face of gender morality!
Dear Nigerians, can we give ourselves seven minutes of silence? For the seven days in a week in which we spew chauvinistic words to our sons and daughters? Can we now see that a woman should not be termed an 'obanje' or outcast for embracing herself or breaking barriers of gender? Being a woman should never be an excuse for brutish and primitive actions!
Chauvinism is in you and I. We can only conquer this raging war by consciously reteaching ourselves that both sexes are equal before God and man. Unless when both sexes are shot multiple times in the head and one resurrects, no sex should be termed "stronger".
Chidera Onwuzuruike Nwachukwu