WHAT REALLY IS FEMINISM?

The first time I encountered the word 'feminism' was in a Facebook post by an acquaintance. The word struck me as a very interesting word that I later became enthusiastic about. I wanted to know more about it; Why it is such a controversial term in Africa, particularly Nigeria and why it is often regarded as an 'anti-men' concept.

I looked up the word in my Macmillan dictionary and it defined feminism as 'the belief that women should have same rights and opportunities as men'.
I wasn't satisfied. I needed more clarity and so I trolled for articles, surfed the internet, listened to speeches by ideal feminist until I eventually understood the concept.

The idea of feminism sprang up from women's consciousness of their plight in the society and the numerous oppressive degrading acts against them. In the past, women were not recognized in the society and do not exist as individuals with personalities to defend. They were docile and mere accompaniment to the opposite sex. Most parents thought it unwise to educate a girl child because of the popular erroneous ideology that; 'a girls education ends in the kitchen'.
Women generally saw themselves as inferior, thus lacked a voice to articulate their condition or air their grievances. They accepted their fate without resistance.

This lingered till the 18th century when some brave elite group of women opined that there really was a problem with gender and stressed that; Women should have equal rights and opportunities as men. Women are intellectual and social equals to men and should be recognized too. These women were termed 'feminist'. They campaigned for women rights; including rights to vote and be voted for, right to hold public offices, right to work and earn wages, right to own a property, receive education, enter contracts etc.
They refused to be apologetic for their femininity and sought absolute equality in both sexes in all spheres of life.
Feminism to me, is a just course because it gives women a sense of self and enhances our position in a predominately male - Oriented society.

But it's quite unfortunate that in this contemporary Nigerian society, some naturally arrogant, proud so-called feminist has rubbished what feminism stands for. They take it as a personal thing and a means to get back at men for the wrongs done to them. They call themselves 'feminist' without understanding the concept. Men to them, are competitors and not complementary partners. The few married ones among them abandon their roles as a wife and a mother all in the bid to strive for equality with their husbands. They refuse to recognize the fact that there are core values that can not be adulterated by westernization. They demand respect but do not show respect to their spouse. And this unsavory attitude of these 'so-called' feminist has made many men regard ideal feminist as man haters, deceiver of other good women etc. Most men often cringe at the mention of the word 'feminism'.

I think feminism ought not to be only a feminine thing. It should as a matter of fact, be an everybody thing.
I dream of a society where feminism is no longer needful and men and women begin to treat/love each other as themselves.