Nigerian women are exposing the realities of everyday sexism in their country using the hashtag #BeingFemaleInNigeria on Twitter.
The conversation quickly picked up steam after a handful of women began tweeting about it on Tuesday. It soon became a national discussion about discrimination and double standards.
The first tweets on the hashtag were sent by Florence Warmate, who is part of a small book club in Abuja, she told Buzzfeed.
#beingfemaleinnigeria someone asked me why do you want to get a PhD ? You won't get husband o.— Florence Warmate (@FlorenceWarmate) June 30, 2015
The group had been reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay ‘We Should All Be Feminists,’ based on her 2013 TEDx Talk of the same name. The Nigerian writer's words have previously inspired Beyoncé, who sampled it in her anthem “Flawless.”
Other members of the book club quickly chimed in with their own experiences and the hashtag was trending in Nigeria by Tuesday afternoon.
#BeingFemaleInNigeria you can't go to club on your own to have a solo drink, you're a prostitute.— Fola (@SheCrownLita) June 30, 2015
#beingfemaleinnigeria someone asked me why do you want to get a PhD ? You won't get husband o.— Florence Warmate (@FlorenceWarmate) June 30, 2015
#beingfemaleinnigeria I was asked: "You answer questions with certainty. "Were you a "tomboy" whn you were younger?" Is knowledge masculine?— Otto (@ottoline_o) June 30, 2015
#beingfemaleinnigeria at work, your colleague a family man has to be taken into consideration before you are promoted— Andie Okon (@Andiva) June 30, 2015
Be soft spoken at all times. No man wants a woman that speaks with authority. #BeingFemaleInNigeria— Flower Child (@KingSweetiee) June 30, 2015
By Wednesday afternoon, more the 57,000 tweets were shared using the hashtag. Some users weighed in on the discrimination that women face in the workplace, while others discussed the way dating and marriage norms are applied differently to women and men.
While the plight of women in Northern Nigeria at the hands of Boko Haram has been widely reported, this daily discrimination doesn't usually make it to the front pages.
The country has a National Gender Policy that focuses on female empowerment and the elimination of discriminatory practices, but significant gender gaps still exist throughout the country when it comes to education, economic empowerment and political participation, according to the Social Institutions and Gender Index.
Watch the TEDx Talk from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie that inspired the hashtag below: