The African Woman

The International Women Day has come and gone, with much pomp and pageantry. It is indeed noteworthy that a day has been set aside to celebrate and recognize the achievements and importance of women the world over. The contributions of women to national development in different parts of the world can hardly be faulted.

However, in as much as the achievements of women are recognized and worldwide, the situation of the African woman still paints a pathetic picture. In most parts of Africa, harmful cultural practices such as female circumcision, some prefer to call it female genital mutilation, forced marriages, child rape [pedophilia], denial of access to education for the female child, sex slavery in Europe and other Western nations are still the order of the day. This has made the lot of the African woman pathetic and almost hopeless as against their counterparts in other parts of the globe.

The African woman has come of age, and it is important for society particularly the African society to begin to revisit some of these harmful and detrimental cultural practices that tend to inhibit or lock up the development potentials of women. It would not be surprising to learn that the current state of underdevelopment in Africa can to some extent be attributed to the state of the African woman.
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