Nigeria at 50: Women and the Nation... BY SOKARI

The original idea for this piece was to write a short essay on Nigerian Feminism over the past 50 years.  However there are still those who feel that “feminism” is unAfrican and I feel there needs to be a discussion on what Nigerian Feminism is before one can begin to name Nigerian feminists.   I give an example. Earlier this year I was at a workshop on Gender and Militarization and we were working through ideas around “feminist methodology”.  One of the participants asked for clarification on the term ‘feminist’.  From the discussion it soon became clear that many of those present were reluctant to use the term which they associated with “lesbianism” or “man-hating” which were “unAfrican” and feminism was a western idea and as such not something they wished to be a part of.   Some consensus was reached but anything to do with same-sex desire was dismissed by all but two women including myself.    What should have come next was a discussion on whom or what can be said to be authentically African?   Who is the holder of this power to define who or what is African which assumes a static or fixed condition?   How can they do so given, for example, the cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity in a geographical entity of nearly 1 billion people?  Even to say it is “unNigerian” is equally problematic.  

IYA IBEJI (mama twins); A Unique and Exemplary Working Mother. THE CONCLUDING PART

...Iya Beji's children have come to understand and appreciate her efforts. At such a tender age, they already know that their mother's outburst is only a form of transferred aggression. Something she's used to doing esspecially when she has had a rough day at the shop. Just then, the other "Generals", Maxwell, Joel and Emmanuel, walk into the shop. "Good afternoon Mum" they greeted. Thank God they remembered to greet this time around or maybe they too had sensed the tension in the shop. "How was school today?" she asked."Stressful" replied Maxwell, the eldest.Silently, Emmanuel goes into the shop to 'survey' for lunch but Patricia gives him that look that says food isn't ready yet...

IYA IBEJI (mama twins); A Unique and Exemplary Working Mother. PART ONE

A typical day starts with her ceaseless trips to the communal tap to fetch water into the two giant drums in the house. After laps of tireless trips, exhausted already she wakes the kids to have their bath. Getting five little hyperactive kids to sleep the previous night was a tug of war but having to wake them up from their faraway fantasies is a different story altogether.
But with patience, she helps them have their bath and then she prepares breakfast of the regular 'Agege' Bread and Tea and no matter how many times they've had it, they loved it. For them, probably the best part of waking up. But for her, only the beginning of a very long day ahead.The kids leave for school at about 7:37am. Then she begins preparation for work at the market place where she sells foodstuff for a living...

BLOSSOM EBIEFE'S BABY SHOWER

Celebrant, Sherry and Giovanni

Friends and colleagues of Blossom and Okung Ebeife hosted them to a beautiful baby shower recently in Lagos, Nigeria. The couple Okung and Blossom got married in January 2009 and are expecting their first child. Workingmomsnigeria was there to cover the event. Please sit down, watch and enjoy!

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Nigerian Dads, parenting can be fun!

Inter-house sports, choir rehearsals, end of year parties, business meetings, homemade lunches, holiday vacations, P.T.A meetings and birthday parties. Today's woman often feels she needs to bring home a paycheck, run a household and be the perfect mother. No wonder we're called super-moms - not to mention stressed out, overworked, exhausted and overwhelmed.

CHILD MARRIAGE: SAVING OUR FUTURE

Child marriage is a violation of human rights whether it happens to a girl or a boy, but it represents perhaps the most prevalent form of sexual abuse and exploitation of girls. The harmful consequences include separation from family and friends, lack of freedom to interact with peers and participate in community activities, and decreased opportunities for education. Child marriage can also result in bonded labour or enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation and violence against the victims. Because they cannot abstain from sex or insist on condom use, child brides are often exposed to such serious health risks as premature pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and, increasingly, HIV/AIDS...

Mother's Day Poems

Mothers Day poems are a celebration of love, strength, character, selflessness, joy and family. You can write a Mothers Day Poem to any Mother in your life whether she’s your wife, sister, friend or even your own mother. The sentiments are always the same and we all know the amount that mothers give up in order to raise their children; the daily grind and the thankless tasks that go into bringing up the next generation of society. An ideal way to show our gratitude to the mothers of the world is to express it in poetry. A Mothers Day Poem can express many deeply felt emotions in only a few words and can easily stir the spirit and emotions of the recipient...

7 MONTH PREGNANT MOTHER JUMPS INTO WELL TO RESCUE DAUGHTER

It was just like any other weekend at Zango, a suburb in Ilorin Kwara State, where Mrs Iyabode Olorunnisola, a renowned broadcaster at the NTA, Ilorin, lives.Iyabo, as fondly called by her colleagues, is seven months pregnant and was just seeing off a church member- a friend and a nurse who visited her to the main road when it happened.
The incident was an admixture of a miracle and reality. It sounds like James Bond films-touchy, gripping, patently emotional. The NTA reporter wants the story told so that mothers all over the world can learn to care for their children by giving them closer attention, "Nothing is too much for them because the children are our tomorrow", she enthused.
"I was inside the living room on the faithful day around 5pm or thereabout, with my nurse friend who had earlier called me that she was paying me a visit. We were actually discussing about my state, church matters and other related issues when I overheard my house maid, Aminat," shouting at my four years old daughter to stay away from the well...

Challenges of a working mom

Before now, mothers stayed at home to take care of the children while the fathers worked and brought home money for moms to run the homes. But today there is a shift in roles as moms are not just doing the full time work at home but they are also working and bringing back money for the family's upkeep. At working moms we know that the challenges are enormous and we have decided to make this spot a resource centre for nigerian working mothers.

I will like our moms especially those in the career climbing jobs to pay attention to this. Yes you no doubt want to make an impression at your work places in order to earn your promotions and bring home the needed finances. But in doing so, I will encourage our executive moms to earn their promotions without sorrow. I want your joy to be full but how can this happen without one role being joepardised? Often, mothers make a lot of sacrifices just to be there for their children. But as a career mom it may not be easy especially in a society where corporate bodies care les about moms at work. I will like to draw your attention to an event that happened some months back infront of R-Jolad hospital in Gbagada lagos...