There is no doubt about the fact that women as a group are not as documented, celebrated and honored in history and popular media compared to men.
What this creates is a situation where younger women especially have low resources of the exploits of feminist minded women in and out of their families.
This then creates the illusion that women never reacted against sexism and always accepted our fate.
However, all around us we know strong and remarkable women. So why then do we not actively document them?
To rectify this, Urban Woman Magazine recently asked women to share the exploits of an older woman they would love to see documented.
Read their responses below.
Mairo Samaila Samaturi
Ouuuu.
Well I have someone she just helped me realise the value of doing things with all your might and doing it anyway despite being seen as a clown.
Colonel Charity Adams Earley. The first Black woman to lead the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) was Colonel Charity Adams Earley.
She served as the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion during World War II, overcoming both wartime challenges and racial discrimination.
The other woman for me is Madam C.J Walker.
Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867, just two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, she faced incredible hardship and discrimination as a Black woman in post-Civil War America.
Madam C.J. Walker’s story is a testament to her resilience, business acumen, and unwavering commitment to uplifting Black women. She didn’t just build a hair care empire; she built a legacy of empowerment and challenged the racist structures of her time.
Basically beat racism with a hair business.
Ibilolia Akahome
Ibukun Awosika. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. These women are the ones I HOLD ON TO. Internally would be my mum and her late sister.
Chiamaka Dike
Dora Akunyili. She was one of the few women in Nigerian government who honestly did her job. And of course, NOI (Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala).
Ella Raphael
So I’d like to talk about someone and that’s my mother. I tried not not to sound cliché but to be honest she’s the only one whose life has been such an inspiration to me.
Her name is Assumpta Ike.
* She’s taught me to be so independent.
* She gets things done.
* She has friends from age 0 to 90 because of how much of a kind person she is.
* I see how relaxed my friends are in my home and that’s because of the kind of person she is, she is so warm and makes everyone feel special.
* I saw how she handled the loss of my brother.
* I see how she continues to give up herself for us.
* For someone who’s unlucky with the marriage department and how my father has treated her over the years, she is still so kind and tolerable with him even in his darkest moments.
* She’s taught me the importance of building and having a community.
* i have seen her do really degradable stuffs just to put food on our table.
* I have watched her grow and evolve in her mindset.
* Her love for God is so encouraging.
* The fact that she will always show up.
* She is a people’s person and i have enjoyed favors from others just by being associated with her.
* I honestly dont know if I can love like she does.
* She sits us down and discusses her mistakes with us pleading we don’t tow the same route.
* Asides being my mother she is an amazing individual.
* She was a badass athlete who was on the same track with the late samuel okparaji, she was also a bad ass fashion designer who made amazing pieces, but a terrible marriage took all of that from her.
Her greatest regret was not doing that she’s always loved to do and even if i encourage her to still give it a try she thinks its too late.
I want her to be documented so other women can learn not to lose themselves in marriage.
Angel Anietem
It would definitely be my late maternal grandmother. And I actually intend to write about her and hopefully have it adapted into a movie before I’m 50 at least.
She lived such a liberal, exposed and full life. She’s the first person that made me realise it’s not really education that exposes some people. Sure, education should always help, but I’ve seen my uneducated grandmother act more boujee and progressive than a lot of formally educated folks.
She was the first of her mother’s children and she single-handedly took care of her two younger brothers from about the age of 12/14 when their parents died. She left the village in Delta to come to the “city” so she could make money and send her brothers to school, even though she also wasn’t educated.
She valued education so much and it showed in the way she raised her brothers and then her children. She teaches me about courage because even back then when things like that were not so common, she boldly left abusive/marriages and relationships until she met my grandfather. Even then, the first time my grandfather slapped her, she arranged the young men of her family to come and beat him up😂 left with her children afterwards, and never looked back.
While she was married to my grandfather, she worked as a nanny for colonial masters (she used to call it “baby nurse” and I only realised it meant she was a nanny when I was about 8/9😂), while my grandpa worked as a chef for the same. I think this was one of the major things that made her act polished despite her lack of formal education.
She always emphasised the need for boldness in women and also independence. She used to say “As long as no be private part dem dey use do am, all of Una (both man and woman) go do am”😂 So even from a young age, all of us (both her children and grandchildren who met her) were reminded that gender roles are used to limit people a lot of times.
She was also one of the most fashionable women everrrr!
She used to shake her head in disgust if she saw young girls (married or not) tying wrapper or wearing drab clothes. She’d go on and on about how she never wore clothes that went past her knees when she was younger, and how women should learn to dress in ways that accentuate their figures.
If you expressed fear of sexual harassment as your reason for wearing clothes that covered too much (in her opinion), she’d always say “Nor be your cloth dey make men mumu. Na because say dem don already mumu. Even if you naked for good man front, e no go do you anything. Na yeye men go dey talk say na because you no wear cloth” (Of course she mostly said this in Kwale, her local dialect). But I was with her for the first 6 years of my life, and hearing her speak so openly and radically really helped me be bold at a young age. Even though some of that changed when I was no longer always with her. But lately, I’m learning to reach for that boldness once again.
I could honestly go on and on. I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of the interesting life she lived.
Her first surviving child was a toddler during the civil war, and she used to talk about how she had to be brave enough to leave her thriving Ogogoro business in Delta, hide in the forest with her toddler and then eventually make her way to Lagos where she met my grandpa and they “got married”.
Her life was one of a lot of bravery, courage and very strong spine. Anytime I feel like making a decision that won’t really be great for me (or catch myself already in one), I remind myself of how Agnes would never shy away from confrontation if that was the only way to a better life. I remind myself that I come from her, and honestly, who them be?🙂↔️
When my mother married her ex husband, he forcefully made me stop answering the name Agnes gave me. And one of the best things I’ve done for myself this year is to start the name change process, so I can finally be called that name officially.
If it’s not already evident in this message, I miss her a lot, and everyday I wish she was still here, especially when I see things happening in a weird way in our family. She was basically the glue that held us together with her strength.
I can’t even be mad at her for leaving though😂 She was 100 and had lived a very full life.
Angel Nduka-Nwosu is a writer, journalist and editor. She moonlights occasionally as a podcaster on As Angel Was Sayin’. Catch her on all socials @asangelwassayin.