We Should All Be Feminists

Culture comprises the customs, beliefs, and traditions of a group of people. In this essay, Adichie discusses her Nigerian Igbo culture, which she values but also often opposes. She writes that among her siblings, she’s the most interested in her culture and ancestry; however, because she’s a woman, she’s forbidden from participating in this culture in many ways. She can’t attend family meetings, which only admit men. Even when she’s admitted into public spaces in her cosmopolitan city of Lagos, she’s often either ignored or treated with suspicion.

Adichie writes that Nigerian people often caution her against voicing her feminist views, as they aren’t in accord with traditional Nigerian culture. She refutes these warnings by pointing out that “culture is constantly changing” (45) and that many Igbo traditions—like the tradition of murdering twins, who were once believed to be a bad omen—no longer exist. She writes that culture should be flexible and adaptable, rather than set in stone, and that “[i]f it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture” (46).