Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: We should all be feminists
شيماماندا نغوزي أديشي: علينا جميعا أن نكون نسائيين
Inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature. Full bio
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about one of my greatest friends,
I would ask Okoloma's opinion.
Sosoliso plane crash
laugh with and truly talk to.
وأضحك معه وأتحدث معه بصراحة تامة،
to call me a feminist.
we were at his house, arguing.
وكنا نتناقش في منزله.
with half bit knowledge
particular argument was about,
that as I argued and argued,
"You know, you're a feminist."
"أتعلمين، أنت نسائية."
to say something like,
لقول شيء من قبيل:
what this word "feminist" meant,
to know that I did not know.
بأني لا أعرف معناها.
and I continued to argue.
I planned to do when I got home
"feminist" in the dictionary.
who among other things beats his wife
the novel in Nigeria,
to give unsolicited advice.
that my novel was feminist
sadly as he spoke --
call myself a feminist
are women who are unhappy
"a happy feminist."
by "Western books."
were decidedly unfeminist.
لم تكن قطعا نسائية الصبغة.
Mills & Boon romance published
كل روايات دار النشر ميلز أند بوون
struggled to finish them.
وعانيت الأمرين لأكمل قراءتها.
على أفريقيا،
"a happy African feminist."
"النسائية الأفريقية السعيدة."
feminist who does not hate men
السعيدة غير الكارهة للرجال
for herself but not for men.
لنفسها وليس للرجال.
was tongue-in-cheek,
with baggage, negative baggage.
that sort of thing.
that she would give the class a test
أنها ستختبرنا
would be the class monitor.
the names of noisemakers --
a cane to hold in your hand
and patrol the class for noisemakers.
بحثا عن المزعجين.
actually allowed to use the cane.
for the nine-year-old me.
بالنسبة لطفلة في التاسعة من عمرها.
to be the class monitor.
that the monitor had to be a boy.
بأن على مسؤول القسم أن يكون صبيا.
to make that clear earlier
score on the test,
صاحب ثاني أعلى درجة في الاختبار
interesting about this
in patrolling the class with the cane,
حاملًا عصا بيده،
is just as obvious to everyone else.
and he would tell me,
being different or harder for women.
بأن الأمور مختلفة وأصعب بالنسبة للنساء.
could not see what seems so self-evident.
من رؤية الواقع.
Louis and I went out with friends.
خرجت أنا ولويس مع بعض الأصدقاء.
who are not familiar with Lagos,
who hang around outside establishments
المتواجدين حول المنشآت
"help" you park your car.
على ركن سيارتكم.
with the particular theatrics
a parking spot that evening.
على مكان للركن تلك الليلة.
I decided to leave him a tip.
that I had earned from doing my work,
very grateful and very happy,
قسمات الامتنان والسعادة،
I didn't give him the money."
dawn on Louis' face.
we have different sexual organs,
in general physically stronger than women.
وفي العموم هم أقوى جسديا من النساء.
than men in the world,
population is female.
and prestige are occupied by men.
والرفيعة يشغلها الرجال.
the fewer women there are."
كلما قل تواجد النساء."
of the Lilly Ledbetter law,
خلال الانتخابات الأمريكية الأخيرة،
alliterative name of that law,
لذلك القانون،
being equally qualified,
ويملكان نفس المؤهل،
because he's a man.
the most important attribute for survival.
للبقاء على قيد الحياة.
was more likely to lead,
are physically stronger.
in a vastly different world.
is not the physically stronger person;
the more intelligent person,
for those attributes.
to be intelligent,
على الأرجح في الذكاء
of gender had not evolved.
حول نوع الجنس لم تلتحق بالركب.
of one of the best Nigerian hotels.
دخلت إلى أحد أفخم الفنادق النيجيرية.
but I thought I probably shouldn't.
لكن ارتأيت أنه لا ينبغي علي فعل ذلك.
وسألني بضعة أسئلة مزعجة،
and asked me annoying questions,
يعني أنها بائعة هوى.
into a hotel alone is a sex worker.
focus on the ostensible supply
into many "reputable" bars and clubs.
من الحانات والملاهي الليلية "المعروفة".
if you're a woman alone,
a Nigerian restaurant with a man,
felt like, "Yes! I thought that!"
are more important than women.
don't intend any harm.
لا يقصدون أي إهانة بذلك.
and quite another to feel it emotionally.
تختلف عن الإحساس النفسي.
I feel invisible.
أشعر بأني غير مرئية
that I am just as human as the man,
بأني والرجل سيان في الإنسانية،
that sting the most.
تكون الأمور الصغيرة أكثر إيلامًا.
to be young and female in Lagos,
is a grave injustice.
هو عبارة عن إجحاف.
of bringing about positive change;
I'm also hopeful.
فأنا أيضًا كلي أمل.
in the ability of human beings
themselves for the better.
and because it is where my heart is.
and plan for a different world,
who are truer to themselves.
وصادقين مع أنفسهم.
on how we raise them;
in a very narrow way,
of weakness, of vulnerability.
in Nigerian speak, "hard man!"
وفق المعتقد النيجيري، "رجل حازم!"
both of them teenagers,
of pocket money, would go out
would be expected always to pay,
to steal money from their parents.
أن يسرق الفتيان المال من آبائهم.
was not "the boy has to pay"
of that historical advantage,
هم من سيتقاضى أكثر اليوم،
raising children differently,
of having to prove this masculinity.
يحتم عليهم إثبات رجولتهم.
that they have to be hard,
with very fragile egos.
the man feels compelled to be,
disservice to girls
to cater to the fragile egos of men.
ذاك الشعور الهش بالذات لدى الرجال.
to make themselves smaller,
ولكن ليس كثيرًا."
but not too successful,
ولكن ليس نجاحًا كبيرًا،
in your relationship with a man,
the premise itself?
موضع تساؤل؟
be a threat to a man?
to simply dispose of that word,
التخلص من تلك الكلمة،
I dislike more than "emasculation."
أكثر من "أخذت رجولته."
would be intimidated by me.
to me to be worried
be intimidated by me
I would have no interest in.
I'm expected to aspire to marriage;
that marriage is the most important.
and love and mutual support.
to aspire to marriage
على التطلع إلى الزواج
who decided to sell her house
to intimidate a man who might marry her.
الذي قد يتزوجها.
who, when she goes to conferences,
كانت عندما تذهب إلى الندوات
in the conference to "give her respect."
باقي المشاركين في الندوة.
who are under so much pressure
even from work to get married,
to make terrible choices.
to see it as a deep, personal failure.
كفشل شخصي ذريع.
who is unmarried,
to making his pick.
just say no to all of this."
and more complex.
from our socialization.
عن نشأتنا الاجتماعية.
and relationships illustrates this.
is often the language of ownership
a man shows a woman.
على حد سواء...
I'm very amused by --
that they should not be doing anyway.
حول أمر لا يفترض أن يقوموا به.
in a kind of fondly exasperated way,
بنبرة من الاستياء العميق،
proves how masculine they are,
I can't go to the club every night,
لا يمكنني الذهاب إلى الملهى كل ليلة،
I do it only on weekends."
أذهب فقط في نهاية الأسبوع."
"I did it for peace in my marriage,"
"أفعل ذلك للحفاظ على استقرار زواجي."
about giving up a job,
each other as competitors --
إلى بعضهن كمنافسات...
which I think can be a good thing,
والذي في نظري هو أمر جيد،
cannot be sexual beings
knowing about our sons' girlfriends.
فإنه لا يهمنا معرفة صديقات أولادنا.
the perfect man to be their husbands.
أن يحضرن الرجل المثالي ليصبح زوجهن.
we praise girls for virginity,
this is supposed to work out because ...
كيف يعمل ذلك بالضبط لأن...
is usually a process that involves ...
هي عملية تتطلب في العادة...
was gang raped in a university in Nigeria,
لاعتصاب جماعي في جامعة بنيجيريا،
both male and female,
ذكور وإناث على حد سواء،
in a room with four boys?"
في غرفة مع أربعة فتيان؟"
the horrible inhumanity of that response,
to think of women as inherently guilty,
على فكرة أن النساء مذنبات بطبيعتهن،
to expect so little of men
without any control
وخارجة عن السيطرة
as though by being born female
who silence themselves.
who cannot say what they truly think,
على الإفصاح عن رأيهن،
we did to girls --
who have turned pretense into an art form.
that to be "good wife material"
to use that Nigerian word --
لاستعمال تلك الكلمة النيجيرية...
began to complain that she had changed.
تتذمر من أنها قد تغيرت.
our true individual selves,
of gender expectations.
ثقل الانتظارات المرتبطة بجنسنا.
undeniably different biologically,
اختلاف الفتيان والفتيات بيولوجيًّا،
exaggerates the differences
a self-fulfilling process.
في الواقع.
to do the housework than men,
تقمن بأعمال البيت أكثر من الرجال،
are born with a cooking gene?
socialized to see cooking as their role?
على النظر إلى الطبخ كمهمة مرتبطة بهن؟
women are born with a cooking gene,
ربما أن النساء يولدن بجينات الطبخ،
of the famous cooks in the world,
بأن غالبية الطهاة المشهورين عالميًّا،
as men when she was growing up.
عندما كانت صغيرة.
many more opportunities for women
during my grandmother's time
changes in law,
is our attitude, our mindset,
and what we value about gender.
we focus on interest instead of gender?
على قدراتهم بدلًا من نوع الجنس؟
who have a son and a daughter,
the parents say to the girl,
يقول الأبوين للطفلة:
for your brother."
particularly like to cook Indomie noodles,
على الخصوص،
to cook Indomie?
is a very useful skill for boys to have.
يعتبر الطبخ مهارة مفيدة للفتيان.
to leave such a crucial thing,
من ترك تعلم تلك المهارة الحيوية،
and the same job as her husband.
نفس درجة زوجها العلمية ونفس الوظيفة.
she does most of the housework,
فإنها تقوم بمعظم أعمال البيت،
changed the baby's diaper,
as perfectly normal and natural
care for his child?
many of the lessons of gender
من الدروس التي تعلمتها
in the face of gender expectations.
أمام الانتظارات المرتبطة بنوع الجنس.
a writing class in graduate school,
about the material I would teach
what I enjoy teaching.
have to prove my worth.
that if I looked too feminine,
my shiny lip gloss and my girly skirt,
وارتداء تنورتي الأنثوية خاصتي،
that when it comes to appearance
أنه عندما يتعلق الأمر بالمظهر
as the standard, as the norm.
for a business meeting,
about looking too masculine
for business meeting,
about looking too feminine
من أن تبدو أكثر أنوثة من اللازم
she will be taken seriously.
وإن كانت ستؤخذ على محمل الجد أو لا.
that ugly suit that day.
from my closet, by the way.
that I have now to be myself,
نفس الثقة بالذات التي لدي اليوم،
even more from my teaching,
be apologetic for my femaleness
عن كوني أنثى
in all of my femaleness
conversation to have.
to encounter almost immediate resistance.
يجابه أحيانا بمقاومة فورية.
are actually thinking,
actively think about gender
لا يفكرون بجدية في نوع الجنس
لا يقومون بأي شيء لتغيير ذلك.
into a restaurant with a woman
part of a longer version of this talk.
هناك نسخة مطولة من هذه المحادثة.
a very uncomfortable conversation to have,
يمكن أن تكون نقاشًا غير مريح،
to close the conversation.
إقفال النقاش فقط،
evolutionary biology and apes,
سيأتي بحجة علم الأحياء التطوري والقردة،
bow down to male apes
and have earthworms for breakfast,
وتأكل الديدان على الفطور،
"Well, poor men also have a hard time."
"حسنا، الرجال المساكين هم أيضا يعانون."
what this conversation is about.
are different forms of oppression.
هما نوعان مختلفان من الظلم.
about systems of oppression
to a black man about gender
مع رجل أسود حول الجنسانية
'my experience as a woman'?
about his experience as a black man.
experience the world differently.
يختبرون العالم بشكل مختلف.
we experience the world.
bottom power is an expression
something like a woman
to get favors from men.
للحصول على ما تريد من الرجال.
from time to time --
that somebody else is in a bad mood,
being subordinate to a man is our culture.
أن خضوع المرأة للرجل جزء من ثقافتنا.
who are fifteen and live in Lagos.
عمرهما 15 سنة تعيشان في لاغوس.
taken away and killed.
it was our culture to kill twins.
التي كانت تقضي بقتل التوأم.
preservation and continuity of a people.
على مجموعة من الناس واستمراريتهم.
in the story of who we are,
is not our culture,
Okoloma Maduewesi.
who passed away in that Sosoliso crash
في تحطم طائرة سوسوليسو
by those of us who loved him.
when he called me a feminist.
بالنسائية منذ عدة سنوات.
in the dictionary that day,
who believes in the social, political
بالمساواة الاجتماعية والسياسية
from the stories I've heard,
she did not want to marry
الذي لم ترغب في الزواج به
the man of her choice.
لتتزوج الرجل الذي اختارته.
of access, of land, that sort of thing.
على أرض لها وأشياء من هذا القبيل.
did not know that word "feminist,"
with gender as it is today,
بوضعها الراهن،
good-looking, lovely man,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - NovelistInspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature.
Why you should listen
In Nigeria, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun has helped inspire new, cross-generational communication about the Biafran war. In this and in her other works, she seeks to instill dignity into the finest details of each character, whether poor, middle class or rich, exposing along the way the deep scars of colonialism in the African landscape.
Adichie's newest book, The Thing Around Your Neck, is a brilliant collection of stories about Nigerians struggling to cope with a corrupted context in their home country, and about the Nigerian immigrant experience.
Adichie builds on the literary tradition of Igbo literary giant Chinua Achebe—and when she found out that Achebe liked Half of a Yellow Sun, she says she cried for a whole day. What he said about her rings true: “We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.”
(Photo: Wani Olatunde)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Speaker | TED.com