My Fave Holiday: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY #EachforEqual #BecauseofHER
Eze Nwaanyi: An International Women’s Day Affair
Can you hear that?
Can you hear the train coming? It’s that feminist train. Welcome to one of my favorite holidays of the year! I will list them, not in any particular order, in case there is any room for debate:
Halloween
My Birthday
Galentine’s Day
International Women’s Day
Ash Wednesday
March (For some reason, I love the month of March!)
Yes, Bob! International Women’s Day has quickly came and went, but nevertheless, the fight for complete and total EQUALITY continues! We are fortunate enough to keep our sights and efforts set towards the achievements and plights of women during Women’s History Month, however, for those like us (on the front lines of demolishing the patriarchy), this conversation is 365, baby.
T-SHIRT: COPPAFEEL – ALL PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS RESEARCH
Let me give you some context. I was born a [grown] woman. Yes. By the age of 5 I was in a state-wide writing competition, by the age of 9 I began to document my memoirs, by the age of 10 I created a life-size replica of Madam C.J. Walker’s styling contraption to accompany my presentation of the first self-made millionaire, by age 12 I was fully aware and victim of sexism and slut-shaming, by age 16 I was Rosie the Riveter for Halloween as a visual representation of the fact that we CAN, and by the ripe age of 17, I fully identified, and understood my place in society as a feminist among the likes of Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie and Caitlin Moran.
So, this isn’t play-play for me.
I knew I wanted to be a voice, a voice for the silenced [not voiceless], and a representation for those who look like me and/ or identify with me story. Feminism wasn’t a choice for me. It was a belief system, a school of thought that I clung onto and devoted my whole heart to subconsciously, because I didn’t see any other way. It became apparent in schooling, in culture, in the house, and in the media the role society believed women should play. I have never been for that. There are inherent rights that each of us deserve. Will we get them? Maybe not. But the goal of feminism is for us to work damn hard to see it though, to the best of our abilities.
Feminism: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.
I received all of the obligatory questions. Do I hate men? Am I a lesbian? …even the fact that I should be careful of what I put out there. And this was just from my father after I released my first website at the age of 18. (He also thought I was a witch, so cut him some slack. Lol.) I had to remember the definition like a quote because the stigma still surrounded the word. I was told I should “tone it down” because it’s still taboo in the culture, not everyone would like it, and it would hinder me from finding a husband. None of that mattered.
International Women’s Day is not a day for women. We don’t need some handout. It is a day BECAUSE of women. We did this. We earned this. Women in business lead to a county’s higher GDP, women-led businesses are started at rapid rates higher than ever before, and the success rate is only increasing. Women are obtaining more degrees and various routes of higher education, and we are finding a way to make it all look easy. Yet, only 14% of African-American women make over $50,000 annually, women of color still make 74 cents to every dollar (2019), and male efficacy differs as early as 11 years old in comparison to women.
Part of my goal is education. The only way for us to move forward is to know our history [herstory]. There are inherit and biological prohibitors that disable us from shattering glass ceilings the way we can. Sometimes it’s the cult in our minds of self-doubt from nay-sayers and past mistakes. Occasionally it is the lack of outside support, and our feeling of neglect. While, whether we know it, it may be the simple fact that we don’t see anyone who LOOKS like us in said position.
That's where positive representation comes into play.
IWD PURPLE FOR THE GIRLS
I never saw women who looked like me on T.V. I still don’t meet people who talk like me. I am yet to lay eyes on anyone, aside from my mother, with a body built like mine. All the gaps I saw were closed, all the full-figured actresses were type-casted, and all the women who spoke about sports were moderators and mediators. We thank God that so much has changed since, and we still have ways to go. There are role models, who I have identified in my life, based on the fact that they are leading the way and opening doors for me, and women like me.
The goal is to strive for greater, and never settle. Those cults in our head are meant to be demolished, and those prohibtors are only limitations that should be used as motivators for us to think further and uniquely. When one of us succeeds, we all do. When we reach a hand back to bring our next sister forward, we do more than give her a stepping stone, we are adding another warrior to the good fight. While this isn’t a post about how we can support women (find my previous post on that here), this is to ENCOURAGE you that you have say in this battle, and you have stake in this equity.
The equity of women.
I take a great deal of pride in being a woman, and supporting other women with just cause. There isn’t a pinkprint to all of this. We figure it out, we map it out, and go. There is little to say about execution, because it is everything. When I was born… a woman, I learned everything I needed to know, savory and unsavory, via the women and men in my life. My father would be damned if he didn’t raise an independent woman, and my mother knows exactly who I am. Lol. Feminism isn’t such a daunting task when there is so much joy that comes from being an advocate for your sister, and your sister advocating for you.
#EACHFOREQUAL
#EACHFOREQUAL: PICTURED: PANELISTS (L-R):
1. NNEKA OBIEKWE (FOUNDER, VANEDE, WWW.VANEDE-US.COM)
2. VIVIAN DURU (CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER, VIViD EXPERIENCE)
3. UZO NJOKU (ARTIST, UZO ART, WWW.UZOART.COM)
4. KOUBE NGAAJE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DASH DC, WWW.DASHDC.ORG)
5. OGECHI UCHEATU (LIFE COACH & FOOD BLOGGER, COACH OGE)