Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an author. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a proud Nigerian. And Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an unapologetic feminist.
Adichie recently appeared at London’s Royal Festival Hall in honor of the 10th anniversary of her bestselling novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, reports BuzzFeed. While there, she explained what feminism means to her and why she considers herself a proud feminist.
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“A feminist is who and what I am,” she said. “It’s not a cloak I put on on certain days and take off on certain days.”
Arguing that feminism is the seemingly simplistic idea of gender equality, Adichie says that the number of those identifying as feminists have grown in recent years, but there’s still work to be done, particularly in her home country.
“I feel like younger Nigerian women are actually less progressive than even my mother’s generation,” she said. “It’s not a question of blaming them. I think it’s a product of the society we live in and the messages they’re getting. And so people who’re 23 are just obsessed with marriage as the end-all and be-all.”
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However, Adichie feels that it’s possible to identify with multiple groups, including wife and feminist. She says it’s important that people recognize that valuable truth.
“I’m a daughter, I’m a sister, mother now, wife,” she said. “All of those things—and being a good feminist—are not mutually exclusive at all.”
Preach, Chimamanda!