Many movements ending with the “ism” suffix, such as Marxism, atheism, agnosticism, positivism, relativism, reductionism, materialism, socialism, communism, hedonism, among several others, haven’t gone down well in the history of mankind for many reasons. Some were too idealistic or utopic; some had either illogical premises or conclusions; some, when implemented, caused more harm than good; and some led to extremes and lacked definitions or limitations.
One of these dangerous “isms” is feminism. It’s dangerous, not because women’s rights are not infringed upon or because it is unnecessary to fight for their rights, but because feminism lacks guidance, priority and proper definition. Those who preach feminism claim to fight for equality without realizing that equality doesn’t exist except in a Christian context, and outside of Christianity, everyone is unequal to the other. Feminists argue it’s unfair when women don’t occupy offices of power or hold managerial positions in white-collar jobs in the same proportion as men, but Feminism doesn’t apply this same standard to blue-collar jobs. Without any objective criteria, Feminists pick and choose which situations equality applies to, and which it does not.
Feminism’s lack of priority is shown in its quest for unlimited access to abortion, while many advocates keep quiet when millions of women are trafficked for prostitution and sex slavery. In fact, some feminists are even advocating for the decriminalisation of prostitution.
A perfect example of this contradiction can be seen in Nigeria, where Feminist are interested in implementing the 35% allocation for women in political positions as recommended by the Beijing Conference of 1995 and other sundry issues. Recently, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi, a senator in the Senate of Nigeria, sponsored the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill, a section of which gives women, including married women, the right to choose the name she wishes to take, an issue which I believe to be irrelevant. Meanwhile the country is plagued with human trafficking, of which women are the greatest victims, and these same Feminists don’t seem concerned. Isn’t this a classical example of hypocrisy and paradox?
Nigeria has a reputation for human trafficking. In fact, it is described as “a source country,” “a transit country,” and a “destination country.” For over three decades, a thriving sex trafficking industry has been operating between Nigeria and Italy.
According to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), about 3,600 Nigerian women arrived by boat into Italy in the first six months of this year, almost double the number who were registered in the same time period last year. More than 80% of these women will be trafficked into prostitution in Italy and across Europe. Last month, Pope Francis visited a home in Rome where former prostitutes stay, and Nigerian ladies were in the majority.
Feminists globally should be ashamed of themselves if they are truly interested in the welfare of their fellow women and in defending a woman’s “right over her body.” They ought to recognise that the greatest affront on this right is trafficking, which ultimately leads to prostitution and rape.
Until they prioritize the issue of human trafficking and liberate majority of women from the clog, they have no right to claim that they are fighting for women’s rights.
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