With thanks to the wonderful teacher and staff at school our grade level was given the opportunity to meet UK born Zambian of Nigerian and Jamaican heritage, author Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda. She utilises literature to delve into the aspect of identity and to allude to the role of family in one’s life. One thing that interests me about her recent book “ No Be from Hia” is that it not only explores the role of biculturalism or the nuanced question “Where is home?” but it depicts her experience as someone coming from an ethnically diverse family. She denoted that the book gave her the opportunity to reconcile with her own story as she used fictional characters to start and shade in what might make sense of her family’s heritage. As the interview progressed, she also made reference to the struggles she experienced as an author. She expressed how due to lack of editors, proofreaders or trained individuals in Zambia it was and still is very hard to access assistance. She had to leverage and at times think outside the box. Towards the end of the interview she explained how literature became a mode for her to express herself and allow her characters to be a representation of not what she went through but what others could experience. From the chance I got to meet her I came to learn that art can even be an opportunity for others to shape their own realities that can even facilitate in them knowing more about who they are feel or feel in those pieces.
Below is an excerpt from her short story, "The Door of No Return." which I really recommend reading. It was inspired by the illegal baby factories in Nigeria where little house were offered to young woman who were preggnant and soon forced to sell their young without their consent. This piece really shows how Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda also uses her literature to raise awareness on matters that need to be put into more consideration. Link to short story : https://natashaomokhodion.com/books-and-short-stories/door-of-no-return/ Link To her website : https://natashaomokhodion.com/
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To conclude on the discussion of Feminism, I believe the wonderful poems each poet presented will encourage others to use their voice or gifts to ensure equity and equality between both sexes. I want to thank everyone that insisted on me discussing this topic and your wonderful contribution.
The Poets Liza Kamikazi - Rwanda Peggie “U Mind?” Shangwa - Zimbabwe Lily Banda - Malawi Poetra Asantemwaa - Ghana Donna Obaseki-Ogunnaike - Nigeria Artistic Intent: In order to conclude this topic, I wanted to create an art piece that would summarise Feminism and what the result would be if it is acknowledged. In the center of the piece I drew a man and woman holding hands to portray that both sexes can work together to achieve equity and equality and not against each other. I also displayed the art piece within a dark background to allude to the hardships that will come with this movement,and the contrast in colour between the words, hands, artists and art pieces were inspired by Peju Alatise's works to convey how these aspects can be the light durig this journey and can provide strength through their ability to change perceptions, provide strength and convey a relatable story. Alongside it are the values that I virtue the most which are open-mindedness, persistence, understanding and hope.
Missing ( Piece above) “On 14 April 2014, Boko Haram militants attacked a government secondary boarding school in Chibok, Borno state, where girls from surrounding areas had gone to take exams.Many schools in the region had shut down. Boko Haram was targeting them because of their opposition to Western education, which the militants believe corrupts the values of Muslims.” (Visit link to read more) BCC News. “Nigeria Chibok Abductions: What We Know.” BBC News, BBC, 8 May 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32299943. Alatise , Peju. “NIGERIAN ART ON ITS OWN TERMS: INTERVIEW WITH PEJU ALATISE.” PEJU ALATISE, www.pejualatise.com/nigerian-art-on-its-own-terms-interview-with-peju-alatise/. “Spotlight Wednesday: Peju Alatise.” Bellafricana, 28 Jan. 2015, bellafricana.com/spotlight-wednesdaypejualatise/. Lily Banda is a Malawian poet, singer and actress( The Boy that Harnessed the Wind) who strongly advocates for women’s equal say in society . I found the above videos quite intriguing as she was able to portray and describe the inequalities women face within her society through her charismatic and energy filled spoken word and song. She has taken part in many movements such as the Mbewu movement and is free to express her perspectives through her multimedia platform. I felt it was important to discuss Lily Bandas role to depict how even words can act as a movement to inspire and change opinions. Hope you enjoy the insightful poem and informational ted talk.
The above artwork is by Zimbabwean sculptor Gideon Gomo. Beyond its gruesome appearance it describes a journey Gideon Gomo believes every man has a difficult experiencing, expressing their emotions. The increment of the face being made out of stone was to allude to Zimbabwean men as Zimbabwe means "stone buildings. Even though his intentions of portraying it in that manner was to relate it to his environment, I believe the theme behind this piece is relatable to many men,regardless of location. The piece displays a log like structure and within it is a stone head surrounded by iron spikes/nails . The gruesome face that appears to be screaming for help or choking as it is surrounded by the iron spikes alludes to the hidden pain men experience as they hide their emotions in the attempt to hide what others describe as “vulnerability ”. The emptiness within the eyes and mouth also display the darkness the character has experienced in terms of sight and expressing themselves through speech. The choice of conveying this piece within a small space further denotes how if these emotions continue to be hidden the spikes will begin to close in causing more pain to the individual. Gideon Gomo freely expressed his perspective of how as a father, husband and male many people seem to look down upon men expressing their emotions as they feel that it goes against the “masculine status quo”.“Big Boys Don’t Cry” was the phrase he used to describe this and was actually the reason why he named art work “ A river of tears”. In conclusion his art piece delves into the pressure men receive that may cause them to hide their cries for help. Artistic Intent: My intentions in creating this piece were to allude to how I view equality and equity to be important in the strive for balance for both sexes. In the center of the piece is “ Mother Africa,” to the left and right respectively are silhouettes of a man and a woman standing on top of a cliff. The reference to the microphones and words were to allude to equal say. I chose those specific words as some of them reflected the process and others the outcome of the st for example “Together we grow.” The silhouettes were suspended by hills to symbolize the rough and hard process in trying to obtain equity through equality. The silhouettes reaching out their hands simply denote them trying to reach for equality.
You look around and see a smile Her blazing teeth, nothing more but pristine. How simple one's eyes can be. Even one step closer you cannot notice The flaming kindle within her beating chest, Relinquishing the icy chill others call culture, Acquaintance, Ignorance, To her nothing more than humanities accomplice. She continues down the long path Searching for something others thought of as a secret, As their lies, deceptions hold it as their victim. Equality, Equality Is the unending chant How simple one's ears can be. For within those chants are the hearts of those Who shows no sympathy. Dividing men from women Like right from wrong they sit there, unafraid Like They will see beyond the wall we call hypocrisy. Do this, Do that Revolves around one's demands to control. How useless your words can be. For each demand There is a broken soul One that lingers but doesn’t sow. Isn’t there an end to this autocracy! 90%, 10% 20%, 80% How useless one’s mind can be. Failing to see beyond the numbers Like they will ever set you free. How can one trust something so small ? That can be changed so easy And sadly at the end of the day, Wrongly Define us all The words equality, equity Never known. Artistic intent: My intent with writing this poem was to delineate the aspects of humanity that prevent us from achieving equality and equity. It delves into the mind of those who choose ignorance over understanding and as a result seem to never grasp on what is taking place around them. In the first stanza, I wanted to express how sight without being put to its full use can prevent someone from seeing the truth. Similarly in the next three stanzas, I address, speech, hearing, and knowledge to communicate how without them rumors, false acquisition or beliefs seem to become truths. The theme of this poem was inspired by Ralph.B. Perry’s quote “Ignorance deprives people of freedom because they do not know what alternatives there are. It is impossible to choose to do what one has never heard of.” In my previous blogs on Feminism, I alluded to culture/ traditions as one of the main reasons why women are being treated unequally in Africa but I came to realize that it is mainly ignorance towards these topics. When not able to analyze what is going around or the opportunities one has these aspects could be used wrongly or send the wrong message. In conclusion I wrote this poem to hopefully inspire others to further analyze the given because to every action or sight there is always a hidden story. Campbell, Charlie, “ Test of Faith”. Time. 18 March 2019, pg.29. "Don’t you think feminism is more equality than equity ?" Honestly I believe that feminism requires both. They both bring different meals onto the table but the only way to understand what they offer is by understanding what makes them different. I am going to use the images below to allude to this. I
In this image two individuals want to see over a wall. Person #1 is taller than Person #2 and as shown above they are both given a stool of the same height. Which one will see a bigger area of the field? Person #1. Even Though, they are both given the same share one will always see more than the other and that is the concept of equality. In the aspect of equity, notion that Person #2 will be given a higher stool because he is shorter and has less of an opportunity to see the whole field if only given one stool. At the end they are both the same height. With these given examples it is analysable that compared to equality, equity deals with affirmative action. Affirmative Action is the policy of advocating individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated against previously and utilising measures targeted at protected groups in order to enable or encourage members of those groups to overcome disadvantage. Equality only encompasses equal share which will only but equity refers to how what is given in both groups would advantage them in the same way. So which one is more effective ? Some may say equity and others equality but I say both. I believe that in order for feminism or any movement that demands balance to be effective they strive to achieve equality through equity. Acknowledging the disadvantages and advantages of each group will enable a more efficient distribution between them thus making them equal. After they both achieve equity they must acknowledge developing at the same rate, thereby ensuring that both groups will be at the same level for a longer period. In The aspects of feminism, equity would be administered by giving women a larger platform for their voices to be heard. At the point at which they have both women and men have achieved equality they must be willing to work together to ensure that they develop at the same rate, equality. I hope this has changed your perspective of the two, make sure to like, comment, or send a contact form. For some of you who may not know proverbs are "a simple, concrete, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience." In today's blog, I will analyse three traditional proverbs that were believed to depict the role of women in Traditional African societies.
“A woman smiles when she sees a man approaching.” The above quote is a Lunda proverb and it instills on how, women were perceived as always depending on men to provide for them thereby alluding to them as lazy, dependent and weak. “If the whole world hates you, go back to your mother. “The wizard never attacks the child of the loud-mouthed mother.” These above proverbs allude to the importance of a woman in a Traditional African Society. It was quite hard to find a proverb that alluded to the strength of an individual female but I came to realise that in most African societies mothers were put into so much consideration. I picked these proverbs as they reminded me of Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart. After the protagonist Okonkwo, accidentally murders a man, he decides to be exiled within his mother’s village. This puts into perspective that the role of a mother within an traditional African society was to provide comfort and resolve in dark times, which I honestly never thought of until now. Personally, I believe it is not wise to base characteristics of each gender on sayings as it may lead to stereotypes or a lack of proper understanding but, I just wanted to understand how women used to perceived in order to correlate it to the effect culture has had on how others view women.. Works Cited Yurtoğlu, Nadir. “Http%3a%2f%2fwww.Historystudies.net%2fdergi%2f%2fbirinci-Dunya-Savasinda-Bir-Asayis-Sorunu-Sebinkarahisar-Ermeni-isyani20181092a4a8f.Pdf.” History Studies International Journal of History, vol. 10, no. 7, 2018, pp. 241–264., doi:10.9737/hist.2018.658. |
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