The Igbo Woman Is Not A Feminist

Feminism: What It Really Stands For

It’s wild how they’ve been demonizing feminists, once you realize how much they've twisted the meaning, those “this isn’t what feminism is” comments from men just sound like noise—like flies buzzing around your ear. Completely irrelevant.

Disclaimer: This post has been gathering dust in my drafts since the first week of January because I know how topics like this get people sensitive so I couldn't figure out how best to write it— did I eventually figure out how best? no, but I have decided to let that be a your problem not mine... ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

This post is my take, not a history lesson., like a sort of organized mini rant, I’m sharing thoughts, not facts set in stone. Take it lightly. If you can’t handle different views, maybe skip this— trigger warning issued.

What is modern African Feminism

For me, feminism has definitely shifted over time. I’d say it’s calmed down, maybe even watered down, compared to what it used to be. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? Sometimes change is just a sign of maturity, of the movement taking a different form in a different time.

Igbo Women and Feminism: Breaking Stereotypes

They love to criticize us Igbo women for being feminists. They make it sound wrong, like it’s unnatural or something. But, let’s be honest, it’s the same crowd who calls Igbo women “pick-me’s.” Funny, right? Just like how they’ll call Igbo men "simps" one minute, then in the same breath, claim they’re the most misogynistic group of men. The irony is real. But honestly, Igbo feminists? We're pretty chill now, I mean we used to sit on men.

Colonization's Legacy: How the West Shaped African Identity

It’s always been a mystery to me why we, as Africans, are so eager to copy everything Western. We emulate their religion, their clothing, even their food, it’s almost embarrassing. But, I get it—colonization really did its big one on our psyche. But let’s not forget, we didn’t come from a society where women were constantly oppressed. We had our own ways, our own systems but now we're just emulating. If you think African societies were patriarchal, then I'm ashamed of you, you're ignorantly denying your heritage.

The Role of Igbo Women before Colonization in African Governance

Let’s think about it: African women didn’t just sit back and take orders. They were leaders in their own right.

A titled Igbo woman in Ndoni, present-day Rivers State, Nigeria.
© Lower Niger French Catholic mission postcard, 1904.

Like during the Aba Women’s Riot of 1929, when they rose up against the restrictions placed on them. Women in Africa were heavily involved in governance. They didn’t just make food and look after children—they made rules. They enforced the law. If the Ụmụ Inyom weren’t sitting on men as punishment, they were destroying the properties of abusive men. If the Omu and her cabinet weren’t making and implementing rules that governed the market, they were overseeing matters concerning adultery, theft, and other violations of traditional laws and customs in the market. But now, Nigerian men (read: Igbo men) like to associate with a history they never had: Western Patriarchy.

How Slavery and Colonization Fueled Misogyny

Honestly, this rise in misogyny—it’s a direct result of the damage caused by slavery and colonization, it's a damage caused by trying to emulate. Think about it: when you’ve had everything stripped from you, it’s natural to lash out and seek someone else to oppress. It’s all about feeling like you have control again. But let’s set the record straight—misogyny wasn’t part of our culture before. We respected our women and they were active participants in our culture. It's logical isn't it? Misogyny is anti-common sense, or as I like to call it anti-African sense. We didn’t need a term for "feminism" because we already had respect built into our way of life. The Igbo woman is not a feminist, because we didn't have to be.

Reclaiming Our Heritage: Why Indigenous Resources Matter

And don’t even get me started on how they used to look down on our indigenous resources, like shea butter and palm oil. They called them “just African,” "local negro products" and now they’re repackaging them with “health benefits” like they discovered something new. It’s almost insulting. We’ve always known their worth; it’s just that now, they’ve decided to tell us what’s valuable and so it is only now it turns valuable. Funny how that works, huh? I've begun to realize 'African sense' tends to grow on the Westerners, it's a process but eventually they get there.

Feminism’s Western Roots: A Response to Misogyny

Feminism, in the Western world, grew out of necessity. It was a response to real problems—misogyny, inequality. I’m not claiming that African societies were inherently feminist and I'm not saying African societies practiced an equal-sex system, no. I’m saying that the very concept of feminism arose because of misogyny. Without misogyny, there wouldn’t have been any need for feminism to begin with. It’s that simple.

Gender Roles in Africa: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Men and Women

Here’s my take: I don’t think African men were naturally misogynistic. They weren’t savages or lustful by nature. Think about it... before colonization, African women could walk around without their bare chests and feel safe.

They didn’t have to worry about their bodies being sexualized or objectified. This shows something key: the environment in Africa before colonizers arrived was healthy. Africa was thriving even though it was viewed as local just because we weren't manufacturing guns, swords and war ships big enough to hold enslaved human beings and strong enough to sail across rough waters—yes, apparently we are viewed as local for just living life, enjoying our natural resources and not looking for who to colonize instead just prioritizing trading, Africa was thriving. And then everything changed when they came and made us doubt ourselves.

Gender Equality in Africa: A Legacy of Strength

It’s funny how people love to claim that African women were weak. Take a look at the women around you today—do they seem weak to you? So sometimes, I don't get why that 'modern African Christian woman' image has been allowed to go on this long, how can African women have been docile in nature, I understand individual differences and all but how were the primary traders somehow narrated as docile meek subservient women? If you ask me, Africans—especially Igbo people—have always practiced gender equity. Women were never sidelined. We were part of the social fabric, making contributions just as much as men did. Igbo women were powerful, active in every aspect of society. Simple logic should tell you: while men and women might be biologically and mentally different, those differences complement each other. No one’s superior to the other—they just balance each other out.

Reclaiming Our Roots: Understanding Pre-Colonial African History

My hope is that African men, especially Igbo men, take a deep dive into our pre-colonial history. Let’s stop parroting the lies of the colonizers—the people who enslaved us, experimented on us alive, killed us. Why should we believe what they said? Our history is so much richer than the one they tried to write for us. It’s time we reclaim it.

Confronting the Western Import of Homophobia, Christianity, and Misogyny

And, while we’re at it, don’t even get me started on how homophobia got imported into Africa. The real question is: what does someone else’s sexual identity have to do with you? And we return back to this 'African Sense' that just always seems so much more advanced in nature, because in pre-colonial Africa, gender wasn’t a rigid, oppressive thing. Igbo women could marry other women and become “Igbo female husbands,” while girls could be “female sons.” There was no homophobia—just freedom to live as we were because who really cares!? But now? They’ve made us forget all of that. It's almost like they exchanged our real culture with theirs because look around you, men growing their hair is demonized in African societies and how ironic is that? Imagine the utter stupidity behind an African policeman stopping an African man because he's grown out his hair, no honestly, what's the logic in this? Are you a colonized punishing the negro for self expression through his hair? Some of the "laws" enforced today somehow ties back to colonization and it sucks. I mean, why is our hair demonized today when these were our ancestors?

Achala, north central-Igbo area, Nigeria
© K. C. Murray, 1939.

A young man in Agukwu Nri, Anambra State, Nigeria. Photographed by Northcote Thomas in 1911.

A young man in Agukwu Nri, Anambra State, Nigeria.
© Northcote Thomas in 1911.

Achala, in today’s Anambra State
© Northcote Thomas. 1910-11.

The African girl can't leave her afro out in school but the European girl can.

Even though our afro holds our tradition, it's unfit to be left as is.

Our traditional mode of worship was "barbaric and satanic"

but over there it's now cool JuJu and our gods had to be destroyed but now its Archaic study in the museums

1900's Wooden Box with Lid Crafted by Aro Igbo of present-day Abia, Nigeria
Now sits in British Museum, "donated" by Donald A. MacAlister

And our "backwards" herbs and plants are now healthcare breakthroughs, how ironic is everything? Africa acts like it's still in a slave construct, there's a dehumanizing effort where we've been subconsciously programmed to hate everything natural about us. We hate our hair, so we relax it, we hate our skin, so we bleach it and who does it really benefit? Because it's definitely not us. Really, relaxers and bleaching creams are extremely harmful to us so how did we even get into a sequence of applying them... Exactly. Sometimes, seeing the strides feminism is making over there is like witnessing them doing the same thing they did to Shea butter and Herbs where they gave it their value and suddenly converted our 'worthless' to 'worthy by just deciding to, it's like witnessing typical "African sense" in real-time and you just sigh because now Africa is just centuries behind. It feels like Africa is still stuck in the 1600's and we can see it in everything stereotypically African now, the mud houses, the no electricity, no pipe borne water and I can't help but wonder what 2025 version of that 1600 Africa with the fancy palm oil streetlights and innovative art would have been like if we weren't interfered with and forced into centuries of unrest. Do you imagine what our evolved version of mud houses would have become? What our electricity would have been sourced from, how the wiring of our pipe borne water would have looked like, what the upgraded version of our art would have looked like. Do you ever imagine what we could have been?

The Harmful Impact of Western Values on African Culture

Christianity, misogyny, homophobia—these three things were never ours. They’re the imports from the West that have caused so much damage to our culture. It’s time we let go of what doesn’t serve us anymore and start healing from the inside out. But I know that's not going to start in my lifetime, unfortunately. Don't forget to tap on the pink bell to subscribe so you'd never miss a post like this.

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