Some months ago, I completed a 5-day vlog series (for my Whatsapp status audience) underscoring women’s journey to reclaiming bodily integrity; a conversation that is becoming increasingly crucial in feminine and feminist circles. Two days before I started, I had commented on my experience reading The Vagina Monologue and how that narrative disrupts the normative thought processes and attitudes that underpin conversations about the woman’s body. Shortly after my comment, a friend had sent me a message on how only after decades of being sexually abused (a term I think grossly underrepresents the grievousness of the breach of bodily autonomy and integrity women are subjected to and the multiple burdens imposed on them as survivors) has she found courage to stand the sight of her own naked body which had been reduced to a horrific site of terror. The frightening reality that the safety of the female race is fast becoming a myth should be a...

SAVE THE BOY-CHILD! HE IS BECOMING AN ENDANGERED GENDER! Many individuals claim that we have become so occupied with empowering the female child that men are becoming the endangered gender. True or otherwise, I have my reservations: I strongly believe it is a machination to get us to water down our efforts at seeking female empowerment. Oftentimes though, I feel hit by these unfounded accusations. I see them as a ploy to sway the narrative in favour of the boy-child, even though there is virtually no distinction between both children when they are forming. Why not let a child define who they will become, all by themselves? Why deny them of choices, of the need to, having been guided without a skewed mindset, chose what they will become? In truth, the focus of gender equality advocacy has always been on women. After all, it is widely viewed that it is the woman or the female gender who have been subjugated or marginalized. Hence, the reason that everyone – sane enough to unders...

Last year, we took a bold step forward in a bid to crushing societal stereotypic thinking toward the girl-child, we ignited the fire that burns brightly in the heart of the girl-child and we helped guide her heart on setting her foot on the track of her own choosing. And as the annual International Day of the Girl Child draws near, we are here again, super-geared to help the girl-child break out of the cages of ready-made expectations in order for her to redesign her own dreams with the numerous blocks that pile up around her. We cannot fold our arms while the society continues to tag our girls with roles before they decide to be a player in our world, define them even before they get a voice to describe themselves; sculpt their thoughts even before they get their first thought drives. The best role players are never scripted. Pay a visit to the annals of history. The best troubleshooters do not think out of the box, they disrupt the thinking process altogether. Tha...

Recently, I realized that some people who have been participants of some programs charging people as much as ₦25,000 or sometimes more when they ask them to help edit their application letters. I wonder why. The funniest thing is that their editing those applications doesn't guarantee the person interested a spot in the program, conference or event. Once, I tried to talk to someone who I suspected was involved in this and the person said it was a need being met so it needed to be paid for. When the person said that, it reminded me of the time when I wanted to make enquiries about a Postgraduate Program. I knew a woman who had just recently finished from one of the schools I had in mind and so I sent a message to help put me through because I was interested in getting my degree in the same school as she. When she responded, she said I was going to pay ₦25,000 before she could answer any questions I wanted her to. My eyes widened in shock. What for? I wonde...

William and Rita have been married for three years. William has been comfortable with being the breadwinner while Rita stays home and does the chores. Rita has always wanted to further her studies and join the workforce. After the birth and the weaning of their second baby boy, she asked for William's permission to return to school. He blatantly refused noting that she has no need for more education. He was able to provide everything they needed as a family since he was the man - the head of the house. As the days went by, William started to become irritated and restless. He would leave for work very early in the morning only for him to return late in the dead of night when everyone was asleep. Sometimes, he tossed and turned in his sleep, startling everyone with his incoherent groans in the middle of the night. One night, around a quarter past the hour of eight, he staggered home, dead drunk. While he was trying to force the front door open, he fell and lost consciousness...

Daniella's lower lip twitched as they pulled up at Moses' family house - a beautiful maroon bungalow. After two years of dating, Moses was finally ready to introduce her to his mother before taking their relationship a step further. She was scared and nervous at the same time.  "Would she like me?" she asked Moses for the umpteenth time.  "Of course," Moses said, turning off the ignition and looking at her.  She made a face at him and rolled her eyes.  "I'm serious. Anyone would love you babe," he said, leaning in and kissing her cheek.  She forced a smile as she pushed open the car door. She wasn't fully convinced by Moses' answers. She'd heard so many stories about the ridiculous things prospective mothers-in-lawput their daughters-in-law through. She was afraid of what her own case might be.  As soon as they walked in through the door, she met the woman's disapproving gaze. The intensity of her stare seemed...

"Please sir, I would like to create a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) awareness program for girls. It is an initiative to introduce girls from the junior secondary school to the wonders and possibilities of science, math, technology and engineering ...," the principal read aloud, his eyes widening. Then he glanced up from his letter, pulled off his thin glasses, placed it on the table as he stared at the younger man standing in front of him. "That is my problem with you corpers. You come here thinking you can turn everyone's head with white people's nonsense then you go home disappointed when nothing really changed. This is Africa. This is Nigeria. This is our village. Here, girls don't like technology. Name three Nigerian female inventors you know. You probably can't but I'm sure you know the girls on music videos or you know how much girls love cooking competitions. Okay, I'm even going far. In our school here, haven...