Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was Nigeria’s first feminist figure in the first half of the 20th century. As a political leader, she stood up against the injustices against women in her region before working for her country’s independence. Married to a teacher and Anglican pastor, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti freed himself from the conventions of the time. She becomes a public figure while raising her four children, including the famous musician and singer Fela.
“Knowing how to be respected. This slogan sums up the life of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. This Yoruba was born in 1900 and is the first girl from the colony of Nigeria to go to school. After studying in England, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti started the first women’s political organizations. “For Nike Ransome-Kuti, his grandmother is still a model.” I think she was a feminist but not in the most modern sense. You know she was just a woman and in Yoruba women are very strong personalities. My grandmother was a strong character. She was disciplined, brave, strong and with an iron will. She was ready to die for her ideas. “
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti condemns the special tax on sellers in the market in his city of Abeokuta. In December 1947, at the head of tens of thousands of women, Funmilayo besieged Alake Palace, the traditional leader. Oba Ladipo Ademola II abdicates despite British support. “In traditional Yoruba culture, you kneel to greet an elderly person,” Nike Ransome-Kuti continues. [jeune] you should lie on the floor. This gesture is called “Idobale”. She was against it. And she told me that she did not kneel in front of anyone because she felt that we were all equal and that bending was a way of submitting to someone’s will. ”
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’s voice carries weight. Thanks to her, the Nigerians gained the right to vote in 1951. Then Nigeria gained its independence in 1960. In 1977, her son, the singer Fela, defied the dictatorship of Olusegun Obasanjo. 1,000 soldiers surround and attack the Kuti family’s home, where Funmilayo is abused and then defenestrated from the second floor of the building. The matriarch fell after her injuries the following year.
“When her body was lifted, there were hundreds of people in the morgue,” said Yeni Lawson Kuti, Fela’s eldest daughter. I thought it was because of my father. But when we arrived at Abeokuta, all the market vendors were waiting in front of Abeokuta’s gates. They were thousands, thousands to go and accompany my grandmother’s coffin to the school where the funeral guard was held. “
.
