Linda stared at her wedding picture that was framed nicely and sitting beside the bedside table. She couldn't believe that Derrek had gone too soon. They had big plans. They had wanted to travel the world, expand their business and build a large family. They had wanted to help people in their community. All these were not happening anymore because he was no more here.  She picked up her shawl and draped her neck. Then she stood and looked at her reflection in their huge mirror standing a few feet from their bed. Her eyes were swollen and had dark circles from too much crying and sleepless nights. Although her face faded her appearance, her black dress made her look regal and brought out her beautiful features the way Derrek liked it. Tears streamed down her face. If only he was here to see her now.  She dabbed her face with the edge of her shawl, slipped her legs into the slippers by the door and walked out of the room, down the hallway and the stairs, out the front door to wh

Violet blinked back the tears welling in her eyes. Her vision blurred as pain pulsated through her frail body. She felt the world spin. Her head was throbbing a little more than usual today, she observed. Her threshold had gotten better with time but this pain was more than she could bear. She touched her forehead and felt a huge bruise - larger than the ones he used to give her. This was definitely going to scar. He must have bumped her really hard against the wall this time.  From the corridor, heavy footfalls stamping their authoritative presence marched towards her room. As they came closer, she shrank back in fear because they belonged to the one who had imprinted her many times. The door handle turned slowly and it creaked open. The handsome face she had fallen in love with walked in with his perfectly built body. He looked at her pitifully.  "Oh baby," he said, coming closer to her, "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry. You know I hate it when you provoke me. Come o

I started advocacy because of my experiences as a young lady. I believed that it would inspire young girls and help them choose to rise above the discrimination and inequality that they were facing from society. Some people, especially some men, belittle efforts of women by saying that all gender advocates do is focus on girls while leaving out boys. I know that I am not very good at male advocacy because it's not my strong forte - not because I wouldn't have the right words to say but because I don't fully understand or live their reality as well as a man would. I suggest that this talk that suggests that every advocacy is girl-centered should stop. Rather, I believe that those who are passionate about and want things to happen for boys should pick up the gauntlets and start up something. When men do things for boys, everyone wins and these efforts will not belittle the efforts of the advocacy targeted to females. Currently, some people have taken up the chall

No doubt, women are the biggest target audience of the beauty and cosmetic industries. Most products designed and created by these industries serve to make women feel a lot more beautiful, confident and empowered. As a great asset and tool that beauty is, I believe that women should be directly involved, not just as recipients of these products but also as part of the researchers, developers and eventual producers of said cosmetic or beauty products. At a time, it was unheard of women to be interested in anything else other than looking beautiful to attract a man's attention, getting married, having children and keeping a home. Today, however, we have lots of women studying and working in various sectors of the economy. Although we have lots of women in the workforce, there are still a good number of people who believe that areas like STEM and various R&D are for men. Today, we have lots of women slaying the playing ground of STEM and crushing stereotypes. The beauty an

A tweet, where a man lamented the lacuna in the Nigerian Constitution which prevents him from attaining Nigerian  citizenship by virtue of his marriage to his Nigerian wife, has gone viral. A post which some considered hilarious, others considered a matter of great concern and some others a waste of time. In the western world, a man or woman can attain citizenship of a particular country by virtue of their marriage to citizens of that country. A reason why many Africans marry citizens of some countries where they are domiciled, I learnt. Section 25 to 32 of the Nigerian Constitution provides for attainment of citizenship in Nigeria. Section 26 provides for citizenship by registration.. It is however noteworthy that (2) (a) provides for citizenship by marriage in relation only to a foreign woman who marries a Nigerian man. There is no provision for a foreign man who marries a Nigerian woman. This brings about the question "Is the Nigerian Constitution sexist

Last month, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa was crowned as Miss Universe. The very beautiful, outspoken and intelligent woman who believes that women should be leaders was crowned the winner after defeating numerous other contestants from countries all across the globe. The most intriguing thing about this win is that she is a dark-skinned African woman who was wearing short hair! In a world where a woman's beauty is usually defined by how long hair her is, this her win is a big feat especially for women who prefer shorter hair. In some countries all over the world, especially in African countries like Nigeria, people usually see a woman on short hair as someone who is abnormal or not beautiful enough. Many people living in these countries see short hair as something only men should wear. Sometimes, when a woman consciously decides to wear short hair and is comfortable in it, people ask a lot of questions. They ask if she's alright. They ask her if she's trying

Lionel Messi edged out Virgil van Dijk in the most competitive Ballon d’Or award till date to claim a record sixth gong. On the same night, USWNT star Megan Rapinoe claimed the Ballon d’or Feminin, the female version of the award. This was only the second time it was being awarded and just like the first time, it received very little attention. The Olympic Gold Medalist clinched the honour ahead of England's Lucy Bronze and national team-mate Alex Morgan, with other nominees including Lioness star Ellen White, Netherlands' Vivianne Miedema, Australia's Sam Kerr and USWNT stars Rose Lavelle and Tobin Heath. Megan Rapinoe was the star of the show as the USWNT romped to consecutive World Cup triumph this summer, earning the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball at the tournament with her six goals, as well as being named the player of the match in the 2-0 victory against the Netherlands in the final. The gulf between the male and female games is truly wide. Messi’s award