I came across Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Nigerian Author, last year while looking online at books that i may be interested in buying and this lovely Lady quickly caught my attention (not only because she’s Nigerian! lol) but because of what she stands for and writes about. Chimamanda is from Enugu, Nigeria and from what i know she is Igbo. She did study in a university in Nigeria but later moved to America to study. I also read that she studied Medicine but later In 2003, she completed a master’s degree in Creative writing. I don’t know exactly how her personal life was or much about her career yet other than what i have read (But i tend to not always go by what i read by press or google! as it may not always be true lol)
Chimamanda has became very popular for many reasons other than her writing. She has also been called a “feminist” which she openly spoke about on one of her speeches by saying what her view and opinion on Feminism is. Like she said on her speech featured on Beyonce’s “Flawless” song : – “Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.” which i think summed it up perfectly! I really look up to this woman and i think she is an icon for Women and young children.
A lot of Men feel that she is doing wrong and that she shouldn’t say half of what she says.. which i have experienced when i posted a status on facebook quoting one of her brilliant speeches and quickly the Men on my Facebook got a bit heated and annoyed! lol I think this is just because some people cant handle the truth in my opinion! I Don’t believe that she is sexist nor do i believe that she says or writes anything offensive towards men. She is simply saying and writing what she feels and to me, he words and speeches are very inspirational and something to learn from. I think the world needs a lot more Women like this who can openly speak their mind on what they believe.
As most people know and as i mentioned before, Beyonce featured Chimamanda’s speech on her song.. Below is the full speech.. My reason for reposting it is because i think he speech is what really made this song a whole lot better. Wise words from a intelligent and great author: –
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise you will threaten the man.’ Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support. But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors – not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.”
Chimamanda has quickly became one of my favourite authors and i would even go as far as saying she is one of my role model’s. I look forward to reading more of her work and i hope everyone else gets the chance to check out some of her great work. I think she deserves more praise than she already gets because she is a very talented woman!
You can also check out her Facebook page below where you can follow her latest updates –
https://www.facebook.com/chimamandaadichie?fref=ts
Africa - the side they won't show you on TV 