THE IMMORTALITY OF PATRIARCHY - by Jefferson Nnadiekwe

Death to patriarchy! This is the goal of the feminist movement. Feminism aims at eradicating the patriarchal society - a society which emphasizes on the superiority of men over women. Nigeria can be defined as an example of a patriarchal society. Women, especially on social media spaces, constantly seem to push back against the idiosyncrasies of patriarchy. It seems however, that as they kick against it, it grows stronger. This is due to a few reasons, but for the essence of this post, I would like to focus on one reason. Contrary to how it seems, Nigerian women do not want the total eradication of patriarchy. I'd tell you how. The first thing to know is that, they are more concerned with eliminating the unfavourable part of patriarchy. As much as they like to deny, there are certain privileges women enjoy from it. In a time where hypergamy is on the increase, a lot of ladies prefer a man who can take care of essentially, all of their needs. I'm certain we've come across various posts online, stating that it is the duty of a man to foot a woman's bills. And any man who isn't able to do such, isn't worth being in a relationship with. There was a post where a lady touted the idea that, men should pay for a woman's transport fare to and from a date. As well as providing the money for her dress to the date. As silly as that post was, there were quite a good number of women endorsing it. Another interesting saga, was a post made on Twitter, detailing the experiences of the poster in a European country. In that post, it was revealed that bills are split evenly between a man and a woman on a date. Things such as grocery bills are also evenly split. In essence, both parties contribute their share in expenses incurred. This post drew the ire of our beloved Nigerian females. Some accused the men of being stingy, while others doubted their ability to live in such a country. It's amusing that a lot women are comfortable with the side of patriarchy which implores men to provide for women, whilst they kick against it's other tenets. It makes the whole movement confusing. What makes it okay if patriarchal society asks that men shoulder the financial responsibilities of women, but bad if it asks that women should submit to men? Shouldn't that confuse the subscribers of the anti patriarchy movement? It is more accurate to replace 'death to patriarchy' with 'Death to the part of patriarchy we do not like!'

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