On sunday, we had a seminar in church on feminism. Seminars, unlike teachings and preachings avail people the opportunity to air their opinions & show what is inside them and what exactly it is that they believe. And sunday wasn't bad at all. There were women passionate about the idea of women standing up for their rights (their definition of feminism) and people of diverse views.
From the seminar, I could deduce that feminism and racism and any other form of polarism share common basis,background,tolerance, faults, conceptions and therefore misconceptions.
Encarta dictionary doesn't make the idea of feminism sound right at all - "belief in the need to secure rights and opportunities for women equal to those of men, or a commitment to securing these" .
The whole idea of securing rights makes it sound as if it was taken at first. Because some ancient African cultures don't encourage woman being given vocational and educational training doesn't mean their rights are being taken from them. I find it a similitude to the issue of children of a rich man who refused to train them, and they thereafter give it up to fate. If people think that rights are being given to people, then we all need to wake up and have a paradigm shift. Maybe some don't listen to Fela, but I find some sense in some of his songs. "Animal wan dash us human right....Abegi o make you hear me well well....human right na my property...so therefore..you can't dash me my property"
It means that in cultures where only the first child is given the largest share (if not all) of inheritance, they should be clamouring against first-bornism? People above 6ft in height should carry placards against Coffin-Makers for making 'inapproriate' coffin? Some of us with 'above average' foot size should stage a rally against shoe makers for having little percentage of above size-45 shoes produced compared to others? Short people should canvass that basketball should be scrapped, especially from the Olympics, since it favours tall people? Even Australians should complain to God-knows-who for having their island 'situated' so far away from the rest of the world?
Your right is your destiny. Opposition to fulfilling your destiny shouldn't be seen as feminist acts but stumbling blocks you need to manipulate to achieve the fulfilment of your destiny. People (especially women and those canvasing for feminism) need to first see women as humans before raising their points. A lady gave an example of an in stance that a lady got married to a stupid man. Although she didn't mean to insult the male folk, but she did a damn great job to show that women have imbued their subconscious to the erronous belief that the male clan is a super hero series. She made it sound as if men are infallible and it certainly showed that she had also been infected by the ideology of women being second fiddle or less than appropriate to men.
In my own opinion, it is the women that need to be liberated from the idea than the men. I tried to point out my opinion, but I'm not sure I am as explicit in oratory as I blog. Sang Bob Marley, "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds".
Very soon, bald people will start forming ASSOCIATION OF APARI to fight oppression of people with full hair.
What's your take on this?