Feminism: A good and just movement, but not the best approach

By Nkom Blessed Chat

Conclusively, not every woman is a feminist, but every woman is a human who is affected by those preconditions that have created inequalities amongst us humans. Let’s deal with the universal and general problem of human inequality first before thinking of gender equality, because gender inequality resulted from human inequality.

Many have written against the movement of feminism, while others have published many treatises in support of it. The unequal treatments of humans based on gender have indeed left an indelible mark to the nature and structure of the society. Feminism has made us to believe that the way society is structured is disadvantaged to women, and women have been marginalized, subjugated and relegated in the society. Women through the various social and political institutions are victims of the oppressive patriarchal society. As such feminism sees itself as a movement that seeks to address this sociocultural preconditioning that have made women victims.

Hence, many feminists in the likes of the Nigerian Novelist Ngozi Chimamanda Adichie, Mary Wollstonecraft, Simone De Bevourvoir and many other unrecognized feminists have tried to promote the movement of feminism. Your vision and quests for a fair treatments of women (equity), or equal treatments of both men and women (equality) are justified and thoughtful, which I know was born out of the pains you might have received from such treatments. Someone like Wollstonecraft became a Feminist because of Rousseau’s idea of women education, coupled with the unfair treatment her mother received from her Father. Others became feminists because of the treatments they received from the society.

Be that as it may, every spectrum of life is a particular instance, which is classified under a universal. This appears to be vague right? What I mean here is that particular white objects are classified under the universal concept of whiteness, particular beautiful girls are classified under the universal concept of beauty, particular good men are classified under the universal concept of goodness, particular just leaders are classified under the universal concept of justice, and in this case, particular humans and genders are classified under the universal concept of humanity. Hence, feminism is indeed a nice movement which encourages a fair treatment of both men and women in the society.

However, in my own opinion, in trying to solve any problem in life, dealing with it from the root is the best. We were first humans before we became men and women, we were first humans before all those masculine and feminine genes where attached to our biological natures. Meanwhile, our gender is just an accident to our substantial nature of being humans. There is a substantial problem of inequality in which the whole humanity as a universal is facing, that needs universal approach to solve it. Feminism is increasingly becoming a particularized approach because it treats inequality as being peculiar to women alone.

In view of the aforementioned, solving the unequal treatment of a woman who was denied being the president of Nigeria is useless, if we cannot delve into the issue of the unequal distribution of political offices in general that excludes the various majority of competent people. Solving the unfair treatment of a young lady who was not recognized while entering a restaurant with a man is pointless, if we can’t solve the universal problem of the unfair treatment of not recognizing the issues of poverty that is raveling the world. In the nutshell, trying to solve male chauvinism, jingoism or gender disparity pointless, if we cannot solve the problem of human inequality in the society.

Conclusively, not every woman is a feminist, but every woman is a human who is affected by those preconditions that have created inequalities amongst us humans. Let’s deal with the universal and general problem of human inequality first before thinking of gender equality, because gender inequality resulted from human inequality. Dealing with gender inequality without solving the problem of human inequality, is just like a man cutting a tree from the branches rather than the root. If we can solve human inequality, am sure that we as well solve gender inequality, but if we can’t eliminate human inequality, then gender inequality will continue to co-exist amongst us. Hence, feminism is indeed a good and just movem‍ent, but not the best approach in promoting it.

Nkom Blessed Chat can be reached at chatnkom@gmail.com…