The World’s Worst Fathers
Image: LA Progressive My mind keeps flitting to this year’s Father’s Day and an incident that happened on Twitter. While most people were praising their fathers, this girl (whom I won’t mention) shared a thread about her abusive father and how he isn’t, for lack of a better word, shit. She wished her mother a happy father’s day for being both father and mother to her and her siblings and prayed her father rots in hell. People were angry that she deigned to say such things about her father. One guy in particular was so mad, he started a thread of his own. The crux of his thread was that he didn’t want to hear about her father being horrible, that she should have kept it to herself and worse, that she was a useless child for airing those things about her father. I was livid at the guy (and other people like him) for bashing the girl. I wondered why it was okay for them to praise their fathers on their own timelines but it wasn’t okay for the girl to call out her father on her timeline. I remember tweeting along those lines and saying that everyone had a right to whatever emotion they had and it was wrong to shut people down because they do not look or think like us. Today however, the incident has me thinking about the reasons why that girl spoke about her father like that. I played all the scenarios of fathers I have met and been told about and I couldn’t help but conclude that there are some really horrible fathers out there. So…here is my list of the world’s worst fathers; 1. THE ‘BREAD LOSER’: If the bread winner is one who takes care of the family, the ‘bread loser’ is my word for one who doesn’t. People know that in many homes, the mother is the breadwinner of the family. She works or trades to ensure the family is catered for while maintaining the ruse that the father provides the money. Now, I am not hammering on men who cannot take care of their families – probably from illness, disability or recent job loss – but men who won’t take care of their families. There was this time in film school when we were doing emotional exercises and one of the acting students shared her experience. In her words, she was glad her father was dead. Many people balked at that statement but I wanted to know why. Thing is, her father had been a deadbeat father. He never provided for any of their basic necessities, choosing to spend whatever he made on himself. It was so bad that at his death, they had nothing! They were forced out of their house and their properties reclaimed to settle his debts. They had to live in an uncompleted building for months until someone took pity on them. Hearing her talk was about the hardest thing I could do. The pain was so raw that there wasn’t a dry eye in that room. And though some of our course mates said she should never have said something like that, I understood. You cannot imagine how horrible it is to have a father who lets you go hungry while being the man-about-town in bars and clubs or who makes you suffer the shame of being driven from school every term for school fees; or having a father who spends money on clothes and cars but doesn’t care that you are wearing rags; or even having a father who spends money eating grilled fish with cronies every night while the family eats Miyan Kuka every day. These kinds of fathers deserve to be on the list of the world’s worst fathers. 2. THE CASANOVA; These are the fathers who chase and date anything in skirts; or trousers. Everyone knows they are philanderers, flirts, womanizers or just plain licentious. Their wives and children bare the shame for these men who seem to have no shame. These are the ones who bring in their side pieces into their matrimonial homes and beds when the wife takes a simple two-day trip. They are the ones who dishonor their children with their unabashed lack of restraint and strength of character. There is this friend of mine whose father is a professor. Each new academic year brought him a bevy of fresh undergrads for his taking. When the guy was in 300L, he met a girl who, coincidentally, was one of his father’s side pieces. After the initial anger, he and the girl became friends. I was shocked when he told me that. I wondered at his decision until he explained. ‘My father doesn’t care two-bits about us. He gives us a basic allowance and when something new comes up and we need more money, he tells us he has done his part. I know he spends a lot of money on his girls; they even brag about it. So when I became friends with the girl, I told her how he treats us. She came up with the idea that whenever I need something, I could pass it unto her and she would get the money from my father. And true to her word, when asking for her allowance from my father, she would add the amount I needed and that was how I got by in school.’ Horrible, right? No! This guy needed to get basics for school; basics that his father wouldn’t give him but would give a girl he was fucking seeing. No wonder he had to do what he could to get some money. Some of these men may not openly disrespect their families but they are still Casanovas. How do I know? I have been propositioned by men whom I knew were married and whose children could be my age and even older. I have hung out with friends at bars where obviously married men were
Why We Support the Eradication of Poverty
A boy with calloused feet and worn out slippers.A direct result of poverty.Picture: SHARE THE WORLD’S RESOURCES Poverty is an ever present reality for many Africans. This is usually as a result of war and conflicts, natural causes like drought, famine, excessive rainfall or epidemics. For many countries however, poverty is a direct result of failed or ineffective government policies. This has led to the death of millions of men, women and children and is usually the first card in a string of dominoes that results in Africa being an under-developed continent. Poverty may not be easily eradicated but it can be vastly reduced. This demands a concerted effort by the governments, private organizations, aid agencies and all African citizens. Poverty can be reduced by; Placing the extremely poor on government facilitated social welfare; Ensuring free education for poor people; Providing basic health care facilities and personnel for inner cities; Massive capital and infrastructural development to enable job creation and improved economies; Facilitating food policies that generate income for nations and hence, her people; Empowering whole communities on revenue generation through sustainable development; Empowering women through gender equality, education, entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation and; Citizens holding their governments accountable for each African life; We owe it to our continent to stand up against the poverty! This is because all indices of poverty (and its horrible effects) place Africa as the worst hit. We cannot continue to sit back while Africans – our brothers and sisters – die from the effects of poverty. We also cannot afford to continually be the butt of world’s joke, pity or derision. We must join the world in eradicating poverty; for ourselves, for our families, and for mama Africa! The theme for this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is, ‘MOVING FROM HUMILIATION AND EXCLUSION TO PARTICIPATION: ENDING POVERTY IN ALL ITS FORMS’. The theme is all encompassing. We need to participate; and that participation MUST be all-inclusive! We support the charge of the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, which says “Poverty is not simply measured by inadequate income. It is manifested in restricted access to health, education and other essential services and, too often, by the denial or abuse of other fundamental human rights […] Let us listen to and heed the voices of people living in poverty. Let us commit to respect and defend the human rights of all people and end the humiliation and social exclusion that people living in poverty face every day by promoting their involvement in global efforts to end extreme poverty once and for all.” This fight is not just for the United Nations or for governments. This fight is for ALL OF US! Add your voice today! Fight for the eradication of poverty in Africa!
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE GIRL CHILD
Carefree Girls: What we aspire for ever girl in the world.Image: Unsplash. Today, SHADES OF US joins the world in commemorating the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL! We believe EVERY GIRL deserves the following; 1. Equal Access To Basic Human Rights; 2. Equal Access To Education; 3. Equal Access To Proper Health Care; 4. Equal Pay For Same Quality Or Quantity Of Work/Job; 5. Equal Right To Vote And Be Vote For And To Be In Leadership Positions Without Intimidation; 6. Equal Access To Opportunities; 7. Equal Access To Inheritance; 8. Right To Choose Whom To Marry And if/when To Marry; 9. Protection From Rape, Pedophilia, Domestic Violence Or Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Patriarchy And Misogyny; 10. Protection From Harmful Cultural And Religious Practices Like Female Genital Mutilation, Public Flogging For Perceived Wrongs Etc; 11. Equal Access to Digital Rights and Protection from Digital Gender Based Violence. With this in mind, we agree with this year’s theme for the International Day of the Girl Child as put out by the United Nations. If girls progress in all the spheres mentioned above, the sustainable development goals will progress and we will enjoy a better world. Add your voice today! What can YOU do to make girls progress? Credit: ESAU DILIS BLOG
Dealing With Body Shaming
Hi. So let us talk about my weight gain, shall we? In the past few months, I have put on more of those pounds in some areas I like (wink) and in some I don’t. At the beginning of the year, I was a size 14 and now, I am a size 16. This has meant getting bigger clothes, worrying about not being able to tuck in my belly anymore and generally feeling out of sorts with them Christian mother upper arms. That is where the rosy stuff ends. Imagine that this is what I call rosy. Few weeks ago, I went out to get something for breakfast and this okada rider whom I have known for a while was passing by. I said hello and continued on my way. The man stopped his okada and said hello. I saw that he wanted to tell me something so I went back to hear him out. I assumed what he wanted to tell me must be pretty important because he was willing to waste the time of his customer to talk to me. He looked at me and said, ‘Do you know that you have multiplied? You are so fat now oh! E be like say this Buhari regime no dey affect you. This fatness too much na!’ I was shocked beyond words. My eyes flitted to the passenger, who looked as embarrassed as I was. The woman started pinching him to get him to go his way (or maybe shut up) but he remained put. I turned back to him and said, I knew. I started walking away again when he spoke; and this time, a little louder. ‘But you dey exercise bah?’ I laughed about it and asked why I should. The man didn’t understand that the laughter was forced and my embarrassment great. He tried to say something else but this time, I turned and walked away. I was, in all honesty, ashamed of what I had gone through. This man, who is just a face I know, whom I have never had a conversation with beyond cursory greetings, felt he had the right to tell me that I had multiplied. I was so hurt that I stewed for days about the incident. I kept telling myself that he was unimportant and didn’t deserve the time I spent thinking about his affront but the gall of it all kept me bothered. When I finally stopped thinking of the man, I got an even more annoying treatment. I went to an evening service in church about a month ago. For the first time in months, I wore a short sleeved dress. At the end of service, two church ‘friends’ cornered me, one on my right and the other on my left. I was between rows so I was totally cornered. While one was asking what I was eating that was making me so fat, the other wrapped her palms around my upper arms, showing me that her two palms couldn’t go all the way around my Christian mother hands. She went further to shake my hand so she could see that flabby skin jiggle. For the first time in my life, anger wasn’t my go-to emotion; shame was. Tears gathered in my eyes and I faked a laugh to cover up my hurt. Recently, I put up a picture – the one above – on Instagram and someone wrote, ‘Ha ahn! You have put on so much weight’ and sealed the statement with sad smiley faces. After about a minute, the person deleted the post, probably realizing how they sounded and feeling contrite. The thing is, though the comment was deleted, I had seen it! I couldn’t un-see the comment and un-feel the hurt that came from reading the person’s disappointment at my weight gain. Couple that with the numerous comments on Facebook from ‘friends’ who feel they need to remind me that ‘you were more beautiful when you were slimmer. Better watch your weight oh!’ and I finally broke. My self confidence level dropped. Who am I kidding? It was in free fall! And though I know I am a size 16, which is only slightly bigger than what goes for ‘normal’ in our society, the fat shaming left me wondering if my weight was that repulsive. Thing is, I used to always be a confident girl. I was never one to bow to pressure and do what everyone expects. I always love to do me and be me and live as I want. That being said, the last few months have chipped off some of that confidence. I may be strong and portray the sticks-and-stones persona but I am admitting that fat shaming words have hurt me. Let me tell you how bad it got. Since 2012, I have been more of a recluse than a bubbly socialite. I started enjoying my own company better than hangouts with people so I kept to myself more. As my confidence level dropped, I became an even bigger recluse. I could stay at home for an entire week without so much as stepping to the gate. I didn’t want people to constantly tell me that I am so fat and blah. And because my confidence level dropped, my stuttering increased. Yes, I bet you didn’t know I stutter. This means that when I am out in public, I keep wondering if people are looking at me wondering about my weight. And because I was thinking of it, I remained silent instead of the good talker that I used to be. This made the depression I was feeling from being out of work even more profound. I could go on and on but I will stop here. I don’t want to lose my street cred. Why am I doing this? It is quite simple. When I did a similar post on my body being your problem, many people sent me mails telling me how I inspired them to deal with body shaming. They told me my confidence
The Foreign Certificate Syndrome
Picture From: The Evolllution Have you noticed that many companies in Nigeria today ask that prospective employees have at least a Masters Degree from a foreign institution? This has led many Nigerians to do all they canto go abroad and get a certificate. This means that Nigeria currently spends over $2 billion (N400 billion) annually as capital flight on education abroad as revealed by The Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institution and Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Senator Binta Masi. (Vanguard Nigeria Newspaper, February 10, 2016) Is it fair that Nigerians who school in the country are discriminated against based on the type of certificate they have? What needs to be done to solve this problem? Watch more in the link below. THE FOREIGN CERTIFICATE SYNDROME Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos on burning African issues.
Why Athletes Need Formal Education
King Lebron James Zoning Out to Read a BookCredit: Spekuliantias I attended a basketball league finale recently in Abuja and found out that a couple of the players could not (properly) write their names. It got me thinking about the number of athletes in the country who are not formally educated and what it means for their career and growth. So, I sat with Abe Onche, a basketball aficionado, to discuss why formal education is important for athletes. This is a 3-part series. Listen to the discussion in the links below! In the first part of our discussion, we looked at models like High School Basketball, College Basketball and the NBA and how, if applied to our Nigerian system, can contribute to developing better educated athletes. WHY ATHLETES NEED FORMAL EDUCATION (1) The conversation continues here. WHY ATHLETES NEED FORMAL EDUCATION (2) To conclude our series on Why Athletes Need Formal Education, Abe has a couple of statements for the society, government, families, schooling system and the athletes themselves. WHY ATHLETES NEED FORMAL EDUCATION (3) These points are salient and you can contribute by telling us why you think athletes need formal education.
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Image: Hiverminer By Tochukwu Eziukwu When I heard the news of her death, I knew life will never be the same again for him. I knew that no amount of words, no river of tears, no number of company, will ever fill the void her demise has left in his heart. Life couldn’t have been more cruel. But life has always been cruel, just that we seem to be oblivious of its cruelty when it is happening to others. Didn’t you hear about the little baby that was thrown away at the road side by her teenage mother; that little baby who will spend the rest of her days not knowing her father or mother? Didn’t you hear about the 5 year old little boy who just lost his parents to a ghastly road accident and will now spend the rest of his days living under the mercy of relatives? What about that widow that just lost her only child to an unknown sickness? Do you know her? Didn’t you hear about it? I’m sure you heard about it, but it probably was just another sad story for you, another bad news. You may even have thought these events were taking place somewhere in mars and not on planet earth; after all they were too unreal to be happening on earth. But what you never realized was that somewhere in people’s homes, real tears were being shed, that somewhere in people’s heart, red blood was dripping freely. You never realized that somewhere in people’s memories, wounds that may never get healed were being inflicted. What you never realized was that these were not just stories, but real life tragedies that were happening to real people living in a real world. Real tears! Real pain! Real life! Life has always been cruel and will always be cruel. This is not about being negative or pessimistic. We’ve seen it happen in the past. It is happening today. Now what makes you think it won’t happen again tomorrow? Sure it will! Again, don’t judge me as being negative because I’m not. I’m just being forced to accept a reality I have always wished wasn’t true; a reality that bad things happen to good people. But I have seen it happen. I have seen bad things happen to good people over and over again. The first time I saw it happen, I thought it was a mistake. But then it happened again and it has kept on happening. A few days ago it happened again. He lost his wife, after they lost their baby; a newly married couple. He is a good man, and people speak highly of him. She was a good woman, whom people spoke and are still speaking well of. Why then should life be so cruel to them? Now she is gone, but he is left here with nothing but just tears; and to think that it was just about a year after their marriage makes it more heart-wrenching. Such pain! Such agony! Now he is in tears, and everyone is weeping with him. The questions are shooting out from every side. The same questions I’ve always heard when bad things happen to good people. Everybody is seeking for answers; answers they may never find. I have not lived long enough to know so many things, but one thing I have lived long enough to know is that there are questions we may never have answers for. Some may find this hard to accept, especially those of us who believe that everything in life has to make sense. It is even harder for those of us who believe that because of our faith in God, there has to be answers for everything; an explanation as to why bad things happen to good people. But we forget that the moment we assume that position of having answers for everything, then we stop being humans, and therefore assume the status of God, who is all-knowing. But we can only be humans! It might be humbling for some of us to accept that we don’t know everything after all, that there are things we may never have an explanation for, questions we may never have answers for; questions like why bad things happen to good people, questions like why she had to die like that. Life has always been cruel and will always be deemed cruel, especially when we lose a loved one. But for some of us, death is not the cessation of our lives, but the beginning of a better life in a better place. There we may find answers to all of our questions, but till then, let’s accept the fact that life can be cruel to anybody, any day, any time; and we would be left with nothing but questions without answers. In memory of a beloved sister.
Meet the Amazing 18 Year Old Championing Children’s Causes
Last year, we met an amazing young girl who is championing the causes of African children through charitable and humanitarian acts. She has won two awards for her work and is – daily – improving the lives of children in Nigeria. Who is she? WADI BEN-HIRKI! Wadi Ben-Hirki is the founder of the Wadi Ben-Hirki Foundation, a charity organization which is a little over a year old but has done so much already! We have a three part interview and in this first part, we find out why Wadi decided to start her foundation. Listen to part 1 by clicking the link below! MEET THE 18 YEAR OLD FIGHTING FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS (1) In the first part, we found out why Wadi decided to start her foundation. In this part, we learn how her education and family contributed to the woman she is today. Listen to part 2 below! MEET THE 18 YEAR OLD FIGHTING FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS (2) And to conclude the series, Wadi gives a message to young people, families, society and the Nigerian government. MEET THE 18 YEAR OLD FIGHTING FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS (3) Wadi Ben-Hirki was also recently nominated for the Africa Peace Builder Award 2016. In a world where many teenagers are trying to find their way in the world, an inspiring 18 year old is already leaving her legacy in the sands of time! I hope this has been as inspiring as it was to us.
For My Super Fans
I am so excited to announce that the blog has crossed the 25, 000 views threshold. This happened barely three days after I celebrated the 24, 000th view. I was planning something big for this achievement but it totally just creeped on me. I had been thinking about what to do for this milestone crossed and no matter what I thought of, I knew it had to be for the readers of my blog. I finally settled on dedicating this achievement to my ‘super fans’. These people have been instrumental to the growth of my blog (and other platforms) and I just want to use this opportunity to appreciate them. They include; Abe Onche, who has been my friend for years now and my one of my biggest support systems since I started my blog. He has urged and prodded me to do more and be more. There are many times I have felt like quitting because it is a lot of hard work but Abe would have none of that. He is the typical annoying optimist who always believes the sun is shining even when it is dark. I on the other hand can be a bit of a realist. Okay! I am very much a realist! This means that when I get tired of putting out content and following my dreams, he is always there to give me a ray of hope. I am not always eager to hear him out and many times, I am deliberately difficult but if I didn’t have him to push me, this blog would probably have gone to sleep now. Abe shares EVERY single post I put up and I know a huge chunk of the views comes from his friends on social media. To crown it all, Abe puts up money for my platforms. He was my first investor and that is why he likes disturbing my life to put out stuff and you know someone believes in you when they not only put in their time and energy but also put in their money. The next super fan, or in this case fans, are my sisters Enigbe and Sadiya. They HAVE TO live with me and deal with my crankiness, quirkiness and sometimes, downright craziness. In spite of all that, they are very supportive of my work and passion. Since I have been out of work, they have been my support until I find my footing. I am their older sister but they contribute financially to my work. And when they cannot contribute financially, they share their data with me to make sure I am always online. Yes! My sisters are better than yours! I was so humbled when I caught them googling cameras to buy so I can put out stuff daily. They wanted to surprise me with one but we all had to agree it was not feasible at the moment. The positive thing for me was the thought. From the moment I started my platforms, they have had so much belief in my abilities that I honestly feel like I can touch the moon from the comfort of my room. Someone else I really want to appreciate is my home girl Oluwashadeayo Opeyemi. Shade is such an awesome woman and a caring friend. In spite of how busy she is – AND SHE IS BUSY – she always manages to take out time to read my blog and share on her social media pages. I lived with Shade for two weeks and I know how hectic her life is. She has a 9-5 job but spends three hours GOING to work and three RETURNING home from work. While with her, I used to follow her to the office and though I just sat down and fiddled with my phone, I was always bone tired when we got back home. You can imagine what Shade, a manager at a top sales firm, feels at the end of each working day. With all of this, she still manages to read my posts and share them! Did I forget to mention that she also puts money to my work? She is awesome like that! Another big supporter is Peter Cheman Koti. He was my colleague when I worked with FM and TV Gotel. He is an on-air-personality who presents about five shows and produces so much more. He is also second-in-command in the FM unit and a very busy man. He works Mondays through to Saturdays and probably rests only on Sundays; though I know he prepares for his shows for the week then. With all the work he does, he manages to follow my platforms and share almost everything I put up. He has called me on many occasions just to tell me ‘well done Ramat. Keep the good work going.’ He is the same person who gave me opportunities to be on his shows when many people wanted to hug the mic for themselves. I am proud to say the Peter is good people. Ite Thomas is the next person I am calling my super fan. Ite is an officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and a very intelligent man. The first time I met him was when he called in on one of my shows. We were discussing leadership and governance and his response was so enlightening, I wanted to have him as a guest on my show. From that day, I looked forward to having him call in on my show. What Ite gives me is a healthy discussion on whatever I write. I always like to hear his point of view after each post and he never disappoints. His knowledge and understanding of topical issues is just amazing. Even though I have not met him physically, I feel like I have known him for years. I see him as one of my closest friends. Another person who I have interesting discussions with on any post I put up is Sanusi Yahya. I
Dear Future Family: Letter to My Daughter
Image: Ebony Magazine Dear baby girl, When I look at you, I am almost bursting with joy! Wow! I am thankful for you and I cannot help but bask in the awesomeness of having someone like me spring forth from me. To have the opportunity to influence you means the world to me. I love you baby girl! I have to let you into some of the drama you might face as you chart your way in the world. First, I am not going to start you off with such nonsense like, ‘girls should or shouldn’t…’ There is absolutely nothingthat you can’t do! So if you want to play football (though dad and I will prefer basketball), go to military school, be an astronaut, engineer or play with dolls and make-up, we will support you. The only thing we demand of you (and your brother) is that you study and research every single day! Be assured that I will start reading to you from the womb and from age 1, you will probably start reading yourself. As you grow older, people will tell you that it is your place to do house chores; to clean, cook, do the laundry and whatnot. Well, they are wrong! It is not your place to do that! In our home, we will alldo chores; dad, you, your brothers and me. Chores will not be something we do out of duty but out of love for one another. I will not have you cooking while your brother is playing games. You will both be with me or dad in the kitchen whenever we are cooking until you are old enough to be on the family cooking schedule. You need to know that you are beautiful just the way you are and no one could have put it better than Bruno Mars. No matter where your skin color falls on the human skin chart, YOU ROCK! Don’t let anyone tell you that you are ugly because you are African. Trust me, they will try! You need to know that your skin, be it anywhere from albino to dark-skinned, is glorious, beautiful and blessed! You don’t need a lighter skin to be beautiful. Hence, it will really disappoint me if you decide to bleach your skin to fit into the warped views of people who know no better. If you come out carrying my kind of hair, hair that has been called ‘nappy’, ‘unprofessional’, ‘unattractive’, ‘unappealing’ and in some cases, ‘disgusting’, I will like you to embrace your it just the way it is. Almost everyone will tell you to relax it, cover it with a weave or wig or just keep it under a scarf. They will want you to do anything but rock your natural hair. Pay no mind to them! You can wear your hair in an afro, braids, Bantu knots, twists, twist-outs, dreads or even low cut. Thankfully, there is a natural hair movement sweeping across the globe and even cultural appropriative people are jumping on it. What I am not sure of is how long this will last. In spite of whether it is trending or not, I want you to always know that your skin, hair and look is a beauty ideal. If you want to wear makeup, that is fine by me. If you want the whole nine beauty yards – nails, lashes, skin, makeup and hair – then be sure that we will provide them for you as is reasonable. I just don’t want you to spend two hours doing makeup when you can be doing so much more. I want you to know that no matter how beautiful you look with makeup, if you are not comfortable in your own skin and natural self, then it is all for naught. In my view, beauty companies thrive on the lack of self-confidence of women and in many cases, perpetuate that lack of self-confidence. Beauty, baby girl, is transient. Knowing this will make you more accepting of the person you were created to be. I will teach you about modesty in dressing because personally, I like conservative wears. I am very self-conscious about my look and easily get uncomfortable when people are staring at me. That is why I dress modestly. That doesn’t mean that if you wear revealing clothes, you are a whore. Every woman has the right to wear whatever she wants. I want you to know this however; there are many sick people who think that your cloth is an invitation for them to harm you. You have to realize that they are wrong! However, there are appropriate clothes for different occasions and I will teach you to be able to decipher what to wear when. Some women believe in trading sex for what they want in life. The world has a name for them; I don’t. It is their choice to be whomever they decide to be. I would however not want you to do that. I want you to know that you can be whomever you destine yourself to be, have whatever you want and achieve anything without doing so on your back. Sometimes – heck whom I am deceiving! MOST TIMES – you will have to work harder than men in the same position as you but guess what? You are equipped for it! I want you to look at the likes of Oprah, Beyonce, Debra Lee, Ava Duvernay, Shonda Rhimes, President Hillary Clinton (she will always be President to me regardless of that travesty of an election), Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Aisha Mohammed, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Omobola Johnson, Madam Marie Curie, and other women who have done well in their chosen fields. They worked hard at being the women they wanted to be and the world celebrated their genius. I won’t lie to you that women who have lived on the backs are not celebrated too. It takes a great deal of sexual appeal to be a Marilyn Monroe or a Cleopatra but I would prefer that you walk a different path.
