The reactions to the conversation between Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and former US Presidential candidate and wife of Bill Clinton, Hilary Clinton, on why her (Hilary’s) twitter Bio had to start with “Wife” followed by “Mum” have been centered around the core ideology of Chimamanda’s feminism and the irony which her action implies,. Even though the interview was lively all through, many have hinged controversial comments on the single comment.
At the PEN World Voices Festival lecture, the renowned feminist, Adichie had asked Clinton why the wife came first before anything else.
“In your Twitter account, the first word that describes you is ‘Wife.’ And then I think it’s ‘Mom,’ and then it’s ‘Grandmother. And when I saw that, I have to confess that I felt just a little bit upset. And then I went and I looked at your husband’s Twitter account, and the first word was not ‘husband”.
Responding, Hillary said, jokingly she would change it considering the manner in which Chimamanda had presented it. A comment to which the writer did a happy expression.
Clinton then explained that she had inserted wife as the first word because women should be able to celebrate their accomplishments and relationship.
“That is how you should be thinking about your life, and living it. If you are someone who primarily defines your life in relationship to others, then more power to you, and live that life the way Barbara Bush lived that life, and how proud she was to do it.
“But I think most of us as women in today’s world end up in the middle. Wanting to have relationships, wanting to invest in them, nurture them, but also pursuing our own interests.”
Her answer was greeted with cheers and roars from the exited audience.
While the interview was mild and interactive till the end, some Nigerians believed the question was a challenge and intrusion to Hilary’s freedom to choose what she wished to be addressed by.
They argued that since feminism is about choice, Hilary should be free to make whatever choice she wanted without being answerable to anyone.
Since she rose to prominence, the writer has been criticized for preaching feminism in the African society; where it is generally believed that men and women have different roles and should not be forced to be identical.
She has also received criticism for expressing support for homosexuals.
In 2014, the writer said she was horrified when the law prohibiting homosexuality in Nigeria was signed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
She had written an article titled: “why can’t he just be like everyone else”, where she labelled it an “unjust law” that should be repealed.
Her views received criticisms and backlash, as many accused her of following the West in trying to ruin African’s heritage by bringing “demonic innovations” to it.
She has also express belief that transgender women are different from real women because they were once men and their past cannot be changed.
