This Thing Called Equality

The issue of gender equality is something that I find myself talking about frequently. I have very strong opinions about it and as such, I've been looking for an avenue to pour my mind out. Hence, I decided to do this here. 

In this day and age, I think that there are certain ways that as people, we shouldn't be thinking. And that is what I think, personally.  However, I have come to realize that we all have different backgrounds and as such, we have different thinking mechanisms.

I was at the airport in Lagos a while ago, and as you all know, MMIA is always a struggle. There was a couple with 2 children: a toddler and an infant. The mother was attending to the infant; perhaps, breastfeeding the child in the car while the father had the toddler with him as he tried to sort out their baggage and ish. The boy just decided to misbehave and cry/scream his lungs out. You know Naija na, everybody thinks they have the right to control your situation so you've got people yelling: “why is this boy crying like this now” e.t.c. His mom came about 10 minutes later, clearly carrying an infant and everyone proceeded to bombard her with accusations of leaving the boy.  That didn't shock me. What shocked me was when a man said, “how could you have left him with his father like that? ” in the way you accuse someone of killing their son. What was even more shocking was everyone (men and women), followed his lead.  

Now, my point is this, they are both the boy’s parents. They are equally has responsible for their children. Why is it that as a woman she is expected to miraculously understand all the ways in the world to calm her son down while her husband isn't”?

This man just kept mute the whole time the airport cue bashed his wife and asking her how dare she leave THEIR son with him while she tended to their infant. That pissed me off….That right there is the problem. Yes we reckon that the equality line in Lagos is not blurred, it is very clear. We all know that gender inequality is the way of life in Nigeria; however, as young people, the new generation, we need to do better.

Times has changed from the time of our parents. We cannot keeping hiding under the “it is our culture” bullshit. We are now in the age where women work like men as opposed to our parent’s generation where men were the breadwinners and women were confined to the kitchen. Isn’t culture the way of life of a people? If our way of life has changed and we as people are changing why are we saying it’s “our culture” to treat women in a demeaning manner?

We've got to do better, 

Feminist Naija