(By Esther Chioma Uwandu) - In discussing the issues
of women in relation to various factors, what comes to mind is the term “feminism”.
And feminism is the belief that men and women deserve equal rights and
opportunities in all spheres of life. It aims at defining, establishing and
defending equal opportunities for women. It also denotes the activities of
women and male “sympathizers”, and its aim is to combat all forms of discrimination
-social, personal, economic, legal, health, literary, which women suffer simply
because of their sex.
Essentially, feminism is two things. First, it is a theoretical paradigm in social theory that seeks to advocate and enhance women’s emancipation and equality with regard to gender; hence, feminism encompasses many varied activities and contexts. According to Elizabeth Ogini in Feminism and Black Women’s Creative Writing (1996), feminism has two main ‘axes’. As a belief, it emphasizes equality for men and women in all areas among which are legal, economic, political and social affairs. As a social movement, it advocates gender equality and is widely known as woman’s liberation or women’s rights movement.
Essentially, feminism is two things. First, it is a theoretical paradigm in social theory that seeks to advocate and enhance women’s emancipation and equality with regard to gender; hence, feminism encompasses many varied activities and contexts. According to Elizabeth Ogini in Feminism and Black Women’s Creative Writing (1996), feminism has two main ‘axes’. As a belief, it emphasizes equality for men and women in all areas among which are legal, economic, political and social affairs. As a social movement, it advocates gender equality and is widely known as woman’s liberation or women’s rights movement.
