Former Miss Nigeria, Ezinne Akudo has taken to Instagram to address
people who say they are not feminists.Ezinne's post comes after Annie
Idibia went viral for saying she is not a feminist because women cannot
be "Kings". Though Ezinne did not call Annie Idibia's name, she made
reference to the debate about women addressing themselves as kings,
thereby making it obvious who she was referring to.The former beauty
queen in her post, explained the meaning of feminism and advised people
to stop engaging in inconsequential arguments that take us back. Anita
Okoye - Paul Okoye's wife - made sure to show on which side she was
pitching her tent by commenting to let Ezinne know that she's in support
of her post.Ezinne's post reads:For the record, each time you say
you’re not a feminist, this is what you’re saying: 1. You do not
believe that men and women should have equal access to rights and
opportunities.2. You support child marriage, female genital mutilation
and the re-victimisation of rape victims.3. You are comfortable with
earning less than your male colleagues for doing the same work. 4. You
believe boys should have better access to education because girls belong
in the other room.5. You are comfortable with being asked to choose
between your work and pregnancy or being refused employment because you
are pregnant.6. You are sexist and a patron of patriarchy.(E.t.c)If
anything above offends you, then I hate to be a bearer of bad news but
you are a feminist. (At least until the word evolves to equalist, or
humanist or something)You might refuse to label yourself a feminist
because you are scared of being disliked or perceived as angry or maybe
you just don’t understand the movement at all but, FEMINISM is simply
the belief that men and women should have equal access to rights and
opportunities. It is the freedom of choice, a choice to live and become
whoever you choose to be! Marriage is such very tiny aspect of this
entire conversation, but somehow, every time the subject of feminism
comes up, that is all we seem to think about. Plus just when we think we
are moving forward, we wake up to debates about whether or not women
should address themselves as kings or queens(personal choice really). We
have far greater issues as evidenced by the inexhaustive list above,
can we please refrain from arguing on this level? Yes, yes we have our
culture and we know that these ‘anti feminist’ beliefs are based on
traditions but maybe it’s time to sit down and ask ourselves if these
beliefs are still valid, given the evolution of civilisation. But pray
tell, What does feminism mean to you honestly?#WorldHumanRightsDay
