‘Na Woman Be That’ -By Edith Jeff-Okoroafor

Edith Jeff-Okoroafor

“Na woman be that” is a local parlance in Nigeria which means, “That’s a woman”. While nothing may be wrong with its syntax, let us go through its various connotations:

When a driver attempts several moves on the road before finally being able to make a U-turn even when afar off, “Ah! That one must be woman”. (That must be a woman)

When a man tries to buttress his stance vehemently, “This one na woman” (How about, “You are being too emotional”). When a man is not brave enough, “You be woman” (As though other adjectives like “coward” suddenly escaped the dictionary).

When a man displays an unusual behaviour, “Bros, why you dey behave like woman na?” (Brother, why are you behaving like a woman- failing to mention the exact description of the act).

It follows from the above that the woman is judged even before she shows up at the scene. She is seen as a negative entity even when not known. She is a handy adjective when things are not in place.

Let’s keep moving…

Conversely, when a man pops champagne, “Na Man you be” (You’re a man indeed).

When he’s exceptional at work, “Na man you be”.

When he displays any act of bravery, “Na man you be”.

Tell a man, “Na woman you be” and he would nearly fight you, but tell a woman, “Na woman you be” and she too is unsure whether you meant that as a compliment or a masked criticism. The African woman is plagued with a gross loss of positive identity as result of the foundational structures preset in the African society. Truthfully, these blind assumptions are not always wrong. However, naming a criminal before the crime is not only unsubstantial but would definitely bear on the named even after being cleared.

Miss Saude tells her experience:
“I was once in a Taxi in Lagos where the male passengers swore that the driver responsible for the traffic jam ahead was a woman. I kept mute. When we finally drove past the scene, it turns out it was a man behind the wheels all along, and my co-passengers kept mute. It was then my turn and time to talk; they all laughed it off. I assure you the narrative would have continued if the driver was actually a woman. “

Why is “Na Woman you be” negative and “Na Man you be” positive?

Firstly, the typical African society sees the woman as a lesser human, right from their days in the womb. There are stories of husbands not visiting their wives in hospital at the birth of a baby girl, or grand naming/birthday ceremonies held for a baby boy- none for the girl who might have been the firstborn child. Their way of excusing this act often times is by saying, “We are celebrating all our children”. (Oh for God’s sake, wasn’t the firstborn girl-child worth celebrating at birth?)

The girls are trained to be care-givers right from childhood, while the boys are trained to be “Men”. They grow with the mentality of the male superiority; in that they get to keep their father’s name, inheritance, legacy…you name it; while the girl is considered an “out-bound good”- belonging to another man. There are men- Fathers to be clear- who refused to sponsor their daughters in University, not because they lack the funds, but because they are seen as belonging to someone else since they would get married eventually. So, spending on them is a “waste”. They would rather concentrate their time and resources on their sons who are “in-bound”. A few exceptions to this exist.

Mrs Ukoh narrates:
“I was in primary One when my Mum gave birth to twin boys. I had to drop out of school to babysit them for four years before I went back to school. This was a huge drawback for me and to worsen matters, my education was cut short- I was married off at teen age as my parents felt I was too old to be in secondary school. Now I am a widow and wish I had a University education like my younger twin brothers. I would have cared better for my four children and myself today instead of struggling with selling plantains under the hot sun“.

It is clear and almost certain that a woman who stems from a typical African society would have to combat sexism and work twice as hard as the men to be reckoned with. It is such women that are referred to as “nwoke-nwanyi” in *Igbo language *, meaning “he-woman”. The masculine prefix here serves to describe the feat attained as uncommon in the world of women.

While we give kudos to women innocently tearing down the walls of African status quo, like *Rebecca Lolosoli, Oby Ezekwesili, Oluremi Sonaiya, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Aisha Yesufu, Late Dora AkunyilI* to name but a few, let all women be challenged to up their games or the negative labels will not stop.

God bless all African women, who have so much shouting for their attention yet keeping it all together in their homes!