Other than quail farming, the coolest thing in town right now is being a feminist. And I have been taking a keen interest in it – feminism, not the quail farming. So the other day as I was going about preaching the feminist gospel by sharing with my FB followers something I had found on Twitter , I came across a challenge every feminist knows so well – a man fed up with the so-called feminism “particularly the kind of feminism portrayed by Kenyan feminists”. “Why don’t you write an article on how you feel about the Kenyan feminist and I can post it on my blog as a guest post?”, I invited. “You mean a piece where I share my low opinion of the so called Kenyan feminists?” I sighed and said yes. And this is what he wrote.
Kenyan “Feminists” Make Me Sick! By @cselah
A quote I found on Facebook the other day motivated me to face the feminist who had the guts to paint a picture of helplessness in the midst of all the freedom women enjoy in this country. This is what was written, “UNFORTUNATE BUT TRUE: “Women are trapped in a system that attaches their worth to sex, while promoting men to not only take it violently, but also shame women for it ~ @ChineEzeks.”
My dictionary defines feminism as the belief and aim that women should have the same rights, power and opportunities as men. There is nothing wrong with that definition – actually, this means anyone supporting women rights is a feminist. Early dictionaries defined feminism as a cult. Due to some behaviors I have witnessed lately from so called Kenyan feminist I would get why feminism was once defined as a cult.
One thing these “feminists” need to understand is men have nothing to apologize for ; it is a patriarchal society , live with it. Men are regarded as the first line of defence when it comes to a family the same applies in other spheres of the society. When it comes to facing intruders in a home or when there is a jar to be opened it is always men who are called to save the day. Women on the other hand are viewed as delicate, pretty little creatures that are supposed to be second fiddle in a patriarchal society , and are to be protected from harm by men. Most feminists get torn between the radical belief in the equality of sexes and their inherent need to have a man they can look up to.
Feminism in this country borders on sexism. The attacks, insults and contempt feminists show men especially when one deviant man does something wrong is shocking. These “feminists” mobilize women and brand all men as culprits. They go on and on about how men don’t respect women , to the extent of advocating for violence against men. The collective blame these feminists load on men , makes them not only stereotypical but sexist.
A few days ago one “feminist” shared a story of two incidents that occurred in a concert. In one incident she narrated how a drunken lady was fondled by a man who according to this feminist was taking advantage of the lady because she was drunk. In the second incident a drunken lady went to the security guards to inform them that her friend was being assaulted, the guards did not take that lady seriously and even though they accompanied the lady to where the assault was said to be taking place and found nothing, the feminist insisted the guards were discriminating the lady because she was a woman and drunk.
The two incidents reflect how low Kenyan feminists have sunk. No guard takes a drunken person seriously and when you talk about taking advantage of a drunk, who does that better? Women are renowned for taking advantage of drunken men. So discrimination in the two incidents is in actual sense equalization.
If you have to label yourself a feminist or you have to bash or abuse men for people to know you embrace feminism , then I think you are lying to yourself. We have women who do splendid work to empower women : from mobilizing other women to help girls who cannot afford sanitary towels to the heroes who turned the tables on girl education and the fight against FGM.
A real feminist works day and night to ensure political, economic, and social equality of the sexes, you don’t need any special credential to be a feminist. So you see why the quote I shared above irked me, and to finish, I would like to summarize by quoting a passage from a blog that puts my arguments in perspective : “When a feminist writer blames male dominance in society on patriarchy, they are not considering what women are doing wrong to deny themselves access to the dominant positions in society. Thus, the need to be introspective and work harder to attain betterment of oneself is negated.”
I guess I have to drive this home one more time: Patriarchy is not the fault of men. Male dominance is not the fault of men. These are structures that exist and which men and women both play a role in sustaining, which means WE ARE ALL F%$$*&ING RESPONSIBLE SO PLEASE GET OVER THE WHOLE BLAME GAME AND LET US DO OUR JOBS TO FIX IT.
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