Okay, I promised in my last blog that I will give you an update of the ACHRAG awards ceremony I attended honouring our very own Ama Ata Aidoo with the highest honour of the Arts Critics and Reviewers Association Ghana (ACRAG) so here we go…there I was dressed up to the nines (I even got complimented by a lady at the National Theatre on my ‘gold’ shoes) and I was not even allowed in the awards hall because I didn’t have a ticket. As far as the man at the door was concerned without a ticket I could not enter, he didn’t care whose guest I was or that I was supposed to be on a guest list. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to reach Auntie Ama on the phone and by the time her daughter rang me back I was stuck in some serious traffic on my way back to Tema. However Auntie Ama rang me in person this morning to apologise and she is still my favourite author so all is forgiven.
The most popular blogs tend to be those that tell people how to do something so I have been racking my brains thinking of how to make the AWDF blog a ‘How to…’ blog. Let me explain what I mean, if you were running a PR company for example you could have a blog that tells people how to generate PR for free. Now let us apply that same principle to a feminist philanthropic organisation. I guess we could have blogs on ‘How to fundraise successfully’ and even ‘How to be a feminist’. I am particularly interested in the latter because I think the reality of living your life as a feminist is challenging, interesting and calls for constant self-reflection. A few days ago I was having a chat with a guy who claims to have a crush on me and he said ‘So how long have you been on the market?’ My reaction was ‘I am not for sale and I am not on the market’. My inner thoughts were ‘Aaargh, am I a cow for sale to be on the market?’. To be fair to him he instantly apologised but this for me is a small example of how the objectifying of women is normalised in society and as a feminist I think you have to be alert and challenge comments like this. Alongside challenging sexist statements you also have to know when not to sweat the small stuff. This can be quite a difficult balancing act. What are your thoughts?
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
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