Don’t define a woman by person she was married to, but on her own credentials
FEMINISM has always been viewed as a Western concept and maybe correctly so, as it was the West that articulated on paper what feminism was about in the late 19th century.
The word is French. Over the decades, the aim of feminism has evolved. A global feminist and Nigerian author describes a feminist as a person who believes in social, political and economic equality of the sexes.
If we attribute feminism to Western influence, why do we accept patriarchy as an African concept? African culture has always structured life by defining gender roles according to masculine strength. Defining roles did translate to the oppression of women – one could argue it was to protect women as women were usually given less physically strenuous tasks.
By no means has the African culture been perfect. Just like all cultures, it was designed by humans who themselves were not perfect. Over the centuries, the outsiders from the West have documented it to be patriarchal and oppressive towards women and we have bought into it.
They had their ulterior motives for painting us like animals, but the real damage was done when Africans started believing their lies and living up to them.
At the time of her death, maWinnie Madikizela-Mandela had lost her claim to her former husband Nelson Mandela’s Qunu home after a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling this year. This followed after she contested his will in 2016, claiming she had acquired the Qunu residence in 1989 while he was still in prison. She and Madiba divorced under civil law in 1996.
As the case unfolded, it was apparent civil law was still superior to customary law in South African courts. What also became painfully clear was the same civil law does not favour women. This is the same civil law that originates in the West but, as Africans, we are led to believe it is our culture that’s patriarchal.
Did we take the time to research and study our customary law before accepting the civil law? In the Xhosa culture to which MaWinnie and Nelson belonged, it is not debatable who the joint home belongs to. It belongs to the wife and children. Should the man separate from his wife, then he is to acquire a separate property for himself and his new wife. Had customary law taken precedence, maWinnie would have won the case.
What was painful to watch were people’s comments on social media.
Some labelled Madikizela-Mandela opportunistic, others greedy, but this proved the resolution of those who documented our history and culture had been fulfilled.
Even we did not know our way of doing things and were vilifying the people who understood our culture to the core; we have bought into the lies that black women are inferior to black men in our homes.
We have forgotten how our forefathers designed our culture to accommodate everyone and protect women, because if we knew who we were, then surely the family leaders of the Mandela family would have risen to protect maWinnie. Every Xhosa person should know that in the Xhosa culture, when a woman gets married, she marries the whole family and clan and ought to enjoy the love and protection of the whole family.
If we have any chance of creating an equal society, we must first understand who we are, not what we have been told who we are.
Great queens such as Queen Nandi of the Zulus; Queen Nzinga of Angola; Amina, the Queen of Zaria, Nigera; Queen mother Nana Yaa Asantewaa of the Ashanti Empire, Ghana; Makeda, queen of Sheba; and Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar ruled great kingdoms in Africa throughout centuries, and their stories should be told to our children.
Their reign proved that our culture has never been designed to exclude women from leadership. Africans have been conditioned to oppress each other through many years of oppression and the most vulnerable women and children have been at the receiving end of this oppression.
It is without a doubt that South Africa, and Africa as a whole, is an extremely patriarchal society. Our country has one of the leading cases of domestic abuse in the world. Organisations estimate that one in six women are abused by their partner. With a culture that has always prided itself on humility, can we honestly attribute this atrocious behaviour to culture as some abusive ignorants do? Should we rather not go back to see where we all went wrong?
Colonialism and apartheid stripped African men of their dignity and they retaliated by taking out their frustration on women so they would feel some kind control. It was not the African culture that taught African men to neglect their families, it was a carefully thought-out plan of Western forces to destroy family structure in African society.
As we remember maWinnie Madikizela-Mandela, let us honour her legacy by knowing who we are.
Next time a woman runs for a leadership position, don’t define her by whom she was once married to but on her own credentials. Now is the time to undo the damage.