Granted all that, we have invoked the subtext of Chimamanda’s “The Danger of a Single Story” in order to show that “half a loaf is not better than none”!
The public should demand a full loaf! That is, either a full loaf or none at all!
We make this submission because our laidback, nonchalant and lackadaisical attitude has entrenched impunity in the body politic, creating unnecessary tensions in the country.
A politician calls for Ewes and Gas to be slaughtered and he the public and the courts let him go scot-free!
Journalists and political commentators threaten the lives of Supreme Justices and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) comes out to rubbish the threat!
Politicians rape the national coffers right, left and center and they are left off the hook!
Foreigners and locals pollute lands, rivers and forests via galamsey and no one seems to care!
Musicians plagiarize others’ works and that is seen as normal!
Politicians lie through their teeth and the governed clap for them, even give them standing ovations!
Pastors lie, cheat, rape and steal and their congregations still say these pastors are destined for heaven!
A country with a criminal corps of lying political animals who are more dangerous than thieves…
A country that pretends to live in absolute equilibrium with itself in a glass house, and still throws stones at other countries…NDC boys allegedly threaten Pastor Mensa Otabil…
A country living such a big lie of internal equilibrating designation…
A country drenched in an odoriferous blood of dishonesty, political corruption, hypocrisy, moral contradictions…
A country whose female citizens are domesticated and treated like the female characters in some of Jane Austen’s Romantic novels…such as “Pride And Prejudice”…and by Victorian male chauvinism…Tsitsi Dangaremgba’s “Nervous Condition”…Ama Ata Aidoo’s plays and dramas and novels…
Like Wole Soyinka’s literary male-chauvinism…
Like Mariama Ba’s “So Long a Letter”…
Like some African conditions…
Like the theological sexism of Islamic and Judeo-Christian traditions in African societies…
Like liberation theology and moral theology liberating women and the girl child…
Like the aftermath of sexual liberation…sexual revolution…sexual politics…in the Western world…
Like Trokosi…
Like Witch Camps…
Like gender discrimination…
Like the androcentrism of Rastafarianism…
Like the sexual objectification of women…
Like open marriage versus closed marriage…
Like polygyny versus polyandry…
Drawing down the curtain on our “like” one-liners, let us just say:
Self-actualization for women and the girl child…Women’s empowerment should be a national priority…
Let us also just say:
Speak truth to power in behalf of women and the girl child…Progressive or quality education for women and the girl child is key to national development…Poverty reduction, Afrocentric or African-centered womanism and feminism…awareness about the potential of women to change the world, our declining civilization…are the others…
We shall not however get entangled in the number, economic or econometric dynamics of the huge social and political benefits of gender equality and equity to national development, growth…Like meritocratic Affirmative Action programs for women and the girl child…
Men should also do well to learn to develop a feminist consciousness…of course in the creative sense of the Diopian paradigm…and therefore we may want to subsume the “We” in Chimamanda’s “We Should All Be Feminists” under an umbrella-coverage of all men and boys…
The opening lines or preamble for this two-part essay, the extracts from Chimamanda’s “We Should All Be Feminists,” eloquently speaks to the need to resist all forms of phallocentric and patriarchal dictatorships so as to pave the way for the smooth entry of marked de-msoigynization of our society.
All the money our politicians have been stealing can be used to improve the ailing health of the national and the living conditions of citizens…especially women and the girl child…
The fact is that improving the conditions of citizens should not be the exclusive responsibility of the government, of the state. The government and the private sector, parents and families, civil society organizations, journalists, women’s organizations…can make contributions also…
Chimamanda’s “We Should All Be Feminists” should be required reading for both boys and girls. Every parent should read it as well…as well as the larger society including the clergy and the religious. Every mosque, church, residencies of traditional oracles…should have copies of this book. We need to do this so that we can de-endarken the clotted mindsets of some citizens.
OTHER VIEWS TO CONSIDER
When we talk about Afrocentric womanism and feminism as we did in one of previous essays we are not, of course, talking about militant or female feminism, the equivalent of phallocentric or male chauvinism.
Rather, our reference point defines a situation where gender parity in employment, political and educational opportunities, to name but three, exist for all men and women regardless of political affiliation, religion, ethnicity…
In other words, societal respect for women and the girl child should be nurtured in liberal environments endowed with equal and creative opportunities for all, our women and the girl child especially.
Thus, we should not allow the galamsey-like thinking patterns of male chauvinists to pollute the fertile womb of Ghanaian womanhood much the way our galamsey-miners and galamsey-politicians are doing to the fertile wombs of our forests, waters, and lands.
Men should not forget that “behind every great man is a great woman,” it is said. In fact the great conscious lyricist, Bob Marley recognized the power of women, lamenting the terrible conditions that made the woman suffer. Thus he shared in this power of women, promising to make the world a better place by way of improving the material and emotional conditions for the woman.
He made this clear on the track “No Woman, No Cry”:
“Everything's gonna be all right!...
“Everything's gonna be all right!...
“Everything's gonna be all right!...
“So, woman, no cry…
“No, no, woman, woman, no cry…
“Woman, little sister, don't shed no tears…
“No, woman, no cry…
The Fugees…Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and his cousin Pras Michel…covered “No Woman, No Cry” on their sensational album “The Score.” Tens of artistes from around the world have cover versions of this song to their credits. Rap trio Naughty By Nature sampled it (courtesy of Boney M) for their single “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”
“No Woman, No Cry” would also become a famous title for a book written by another great member of African womanhood, Rita Marley (co-written with Hettie Jones, ex-wife of late poet laureate Amiri Baraka), Bob Marley’s wife.
“No Woman, No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley” is the full titular designation of the said book. It is also as though Jamaica’s dancehall, roots reggae and lovers rock international superstar Gyptian, the sensual voice behind the international hit son “Hold Yuh,” has his own “Mama, Don’t Cry.”
Indeed, it is an interesting title that would appear in other subtle forms such as on Prince Nico Mbargo’s “Sweet Mother,” Tupac’s “Dear Mama,” Boys 11 Men’s “A Song for Mama,” Obuoba J.A. Adofo’s “Owuo Mpaso,” Sizzla’s “Thank You Mother,” Ashanti’s “Mother,” John Lennon’s “Woman,” Fela Kuti’s “Lady”…
Kanye West’s “Hey Mama,” Jimmy Cliff’s “Dear Mother,” Peter Gabriel/Youssou N’Duor’s “Shaking the Tree,” Nas’ “Dance,” Christiana Aguilera’s “Oh Mother,” Snoop Dogg’s “I Love My Momma,” Jah Cure’s “This One Is For You Mama,” the Wailing Wailer’s “Where Is My Mother”…
Shaggy’s “Strength of a Woman”…Hear Shaggy:
“So amazing how this world was made…I wonder if God is a woman…
“The gift of life astounds me till this day…
“I give it up for the woman…
“She's the constant wind that fills my sail…
“Oh that woman…
“With her smile and her style, my…
“She'll protect like a child…
“That's a woman…
“She'll put a smile upon your face…
“And take you to that higher place…
“So don't you under estimate…
“The strength of a woman…
“Woke up this morning…with the scent of a woman…
“Just picture if you could what life would be…
“Ain't much good without a woman…
“She can nag and be a constant pain…
“Oh that woman…
“But those hips she's got me whipped…
“And it's just to hard to resist…
“What a woman…
“She can nag and be a constant pain…
“Oh that woman…
“But those hips she's got me whipped…
“And it's just too hard to resist…
“What a woman…
“Tender lips that's so so sweet…
“Gentle words she softly speaks…
“Such an angel when we need…
“God bless the ground beneath her feet…
“She can take you on a high…
“Be your comfort when you cry…
“But if you look into her eyes…
“You'll see the strength of a woman…
“Strength of a woman…
And, of course, Shaggy’s lyrical phraseology “God bless the ground beneath her feet” immediately recalls Irish rock band U2’s “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” and Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Ground Beneath Her Feet,” a complex mythical story revolving around two men’s love for Vina Apsara, a female deity, spirit or nymph in both Buddhist and Hindu mythologies.
Vina Apsara, Africa’s Mami Water….African womanhood…Yet Kennedy Agyapong, Nana Obiri Boahen, Halidu Haruna…rubbish Shaggy’s powerful “The Strength of a Woman” just like that…!
CONCLUSION
We must strongly and vehemently resist the misogynist stereotypes of a rotten and disfigured tongue, a contemptible symbol of moral decadence which the shady and Machiavellian likes of Kennedy Agyapong, Nana Obiri Boahen, Halidu Haruna…represent in the Ghanaian body politic.
We encourage these women’s groups to ahead with their planned protest, a means to send a strong signal to politicians, male chauvinists, sexists, and misogynists that they will tolerate abuse, whether verbal or physical, from men. And all progressive men of goodwill should join these women’s groups!
Sad how political he-goats such as Halidu Haruna, Kennedy Agyapong and Nana Obiri Boahen make arrant nonsense of Shaggy’s “Strength of a Woman.” Thus, our civilization is in trouble!
REFERENCES
Ghanaweb. “Pressure mounts on Kennedy Agyapong To Apologise To EC Boss.” July 11, 2016.
Ghanaweb. “NDC boys threaten Otabil, Rev. Martey.” July 9, 2016.
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