Misogyny, Free Press and Nigerian Women: A Call for Introspection
By Nafisat Bello
Over the years, women in Nigeria and other parts of Africa have been branded by unfair definitions that have kept them at the base of the ladder. For so long, our women have been humiliated, bullied and unfairly made to doubt themselves and become unsure about their capacity, dignity, integrity and fidelity. They have been made to be dependent on men (including brainless misogynists who can’t even lace their boots) and a hypocritical society for validation on everything.
We all know that women play an integral role in the society as they are the backbone of every family. They are crucial to the growth and development of communities. Women are supposed to be seen and viewed as goddesses, they are the most adorable, kind, honest, faithful and trustworthy creatures. Most women can sacrifice a lot for their families just to make sure they are happy. To be specific, Nigerian women are arguably the best set of homosapiens created by God. They are beautiful and dutiful, loyal, loving and caring. They are the best wives and the greatest mothers. They are resilient and hardworking, and they defy all kinds of poverty and other challenges to give their families the best.
Despite the sacrifices they make to keep the family going, Nigerian women have been relegated to the sidelines, subjected to discrimination, marginalisation and indeed, they are bound by the common plague of misrepresentation.
This is due to some cultural stereotypes, abuse of religion, traditional practices and patriarchal societal structures. Women in this country are being viewed from the aspect of being a mother, taking care of their husbands and children, doing house chores and literally staying home all day serving and working like slaves. But Nigerian women are also the most educated, talented, resourceful and industrious set of women all over the world. From late Dora Akunyili, to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to Aminat Mohammed, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Folorunsho Alakija to Tiwa Savage, Tems, Asisat Oshoala, Tobi Amusan and several others, the footprints of Nigerian women are seen all over the world in the academia, leadership, sports, entertainment etc. Yet, some ill-bred and illiterate misogynists cannot wait for any slightest opportunity to slander Nigerian women. They cant wait to use the slightest one-off error by any woman to unfairly label all Nigerian women as useless and promiscuous.
It is also true that there are some things that other women in the world can have the luxury of thinking about but Nigerian women cannot partake in them or dabble into them because they are already restricted by cultural and religious norms. Women of the 21st century have conquered hurdles of stereotypes, but there are still measures of restrictions that would take more than a lot to overturn.
Despite recent marginal progress, gender stereotypes continue to exist and are transmitted through the media, and through social, educational and recreational socialisation, which all promote gender prejudice and discrimination. From violence and sexual abuse to gender pay gaps, career growths and restrictive reproductive rights, women and girls continue to face obstacles in achieving equality and thriving in our modern society.
To make matters worse, the media which is supposed to be the conscience of the society, a moral arbiter which is supposed to be above board like Caesar’s wife, seems to provide the platform for misogynists and poorly-bred alpha males to slander and libel Nigerian women.
Recently, a video went viral on social media, especially on WhatsApp groups, that erroneously claimed that Nigerian women are the most unfaithful in the world. The viral video said this was shown in a survey conducted by condom manufacturer, Durex, listing countries with the most unfaithful wives in the world. Nigerian women were said to have topped the list, beating women from 35 other countries, including Western countries, sampled in the marital infidelity survey.
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According to the story, Durex talked to 29,000 people from 36 different countries, and found out that Nigerian women took the crown, with a staggering 62% admitting to being unfaithful. Meanwhile, Thailand was right behind them, with 59% of women confessing to cheating, South Korea came in at 34%, and Malaysia wasn’t far behind at 33%, where an astonishing 39% of Malaysian women also admitted to cheating. Russian women owned up to it at 33%, while Singaporeans seemed to be the most faithful, with only 19% confessing to cheating.
To ascertain the real fact behind the claim that Nigerian women are the most unfaithful in the world, PRNigeria‘s award-winning fact-check team carried out a check and figured out that several reputable news platforms and online blogs in Nigeria had at different times feasted on the narrative.
They discovered that Channels Television reported the story as “Nigerian Women are Most Unfaithful in the World – Durex” in July, 2012, while Legit followed suit in 2014. Leading Nigerian Newspaper, Vanguard, also reported same story in January 2015 with the headline: “Nigerian women most unfaithful wives in the world” with a picture of a group of prostitutes in the body of the story. Surprisingly, another Nigerian National Daily Independent Newspaper, reported same story in 2021 making a similar reference to the ‘Durex Survey.’
To any professional, fake news is supposed to be recognisable even from distance. The first red flag in the above analysis is that each of the credible media houses used the story on different dates that were far each other. That calls to question the authenticity of the story. It looks like some faceless people are just hiding somewhere and sending the same story to our reputable media houses and convincing them it is recent and credible for publication. Same faceless people must have also been behind the latest viral videos on WhatsApp whose content is the report of the same survey.
Further findings by PRNigeria fact-checkers revealed the the story is not true in its entirety. And the original source of the fake news even took it down but Nigerian news sites that copied it are yet to take it down. Obviously, Durex never conducted any infidelity survey and never said Nigerian wives were the most unfaithful in the world. The only globally existing survey on infidelity among married couples in countries of the world as reported by Statista and world population review did not mention Nigeria. It was a 2011/12 Durex Sexual Wellbeing Global Survey which was carried out in 37 countries to highlight the value of condom use as a public health measure.
How fake news lovers cum mischief makers managed to turn it to infidelity contest and gave Nigerian women the gold medal will continue to defy logic.
Nigeria is not a society where adultery is treated with kid gloves or accepted as a norm. In fact, consciously or unconsciously, adultery in men is normalised or accepted even if it is wrong but adultery in women is not condoned at all. Nigerian women are generally family-oriented and conscious of the society they live in. They value and cherish family bond.The few women who manage to cheat do it secretly unlike places like Britain where married couples jointly patronise the ‘Elite Sex Clubs’ where they can freely have sex with other men and women. So, it is quiet unfortunate and I find it strange that Nigerian women could top the global chart of infidelity.
Despite the above basic knowledge about the average Nigerian woman, such a distasteful falsehood still managed to make it to the pages of our respected news sites. And this calls to question the professionalism, thoroughness and integrity of today’s journalists and also the capacity of the gatekeeping process in the newsroom? How did such a scandalous lie pass through all the line editors and editors in the newspapers without detection? Could it be because its about Nigerian women who are often at the receiving end of all manners of unfair and nasty attacks and who are expected not to complain but just get used to the unjustifiable stereotypes?
Media leaders in Nigeria must rein-in the newsroom operators. Freedom of the press should never be a license to be irresponsible and reckless. Nigerian women have been through a lot and have suffered, individually and collectively, from the anomalies in our society. Adding unfair tags in the media to the list of challenges suffered by Nigerian women will not be acceptable.
Join the crusade! Stop the stereotype!!!
