Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s feminist books

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a writer from Nigeria. She is famous for her take on feminism. She also writes about the struggles experienced by Africans. Her books range from non-fiction to novels and short stories. She has won many awards for her writing. Her books are translated into various languages. She has also spoken in some Ted Talks. She has got such an excellent speaking skills along with her writing skills.

I got to know about Adichie in 2018 while I was going through a YouTube video. The book-tuber was recommending a book named “Purple Hibiscus” by Adichie. Her review made me search for it on Amazon, but this broke bibliophile could not purchase it.

Later on, some people on Instagram were also reading and recommending her books. Finally, this year I got my hands on her most famous book “We should all be feminists.”

This book is adapted from her Ted Talk. It’s a short read of just 20-30 minutes, but the way it talked of feminism is worth applauding. Adichie talks about the first time when her childhood friend called her “feminist”, when she didn’t even know its meaning. But, the way her friend said it felt like he is saying “She is a supporter of terrorism.” And I can relate with that because the way feminism is taken these days, it seems like a negative word, but it’s actually not.

Feminism does not means to hate men, or it does not mean that women should get special privileges. It just says that everyone should be treated equal.

This tiny book has lots of anecdotes from Adichie’s life, and which can be relatable for many girls. She has talked about many misconceptions related to feminism.

My own definition is a feminist is a man or a woman who says, yes, there’s a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better. All of us, women and men, must do better.

If you really want to clarify what actually is feminism and why it’s named so, you must read it or you can even watch her Ted Talk.

Recently, I listened to my first audiobook on Scribd and it was “Dear Ijeawele” by Adichie. It is basically an email which she had written for her friend, who wanted to raise her daughter as a feminist.

In this book, Adichie has given 15 suggestions about how a kid can be raised as a feminist. It is not just for girls but for boys as well.

She suggests a mother to not merely defined as a mother only. She needs to be a full person. A child only learns by imitating their elders. If she will herself behave like what she wants to see her child, then only it will be properly beneficial.

She tells to teach kids to question language as well. Do not just classify something as “misogynistic” or “patriarchal”, but explain why it is so.

There are various valuable suggestions offered by Adichie in this book which are not just for kids, but also for us. Even I learnt lots of things from this book.

Teach her that if you criticize X in women but do not criticize X in men, then you do not have a problem with X, you have a problem with women.

I would like to add if you want to read her work, then its the perfect order to read. First of all, learn about what actually feminism is and then see how you can actually become a feminist.

I would surely recommend you to read Adichie’s writing. She writes brilliantly and her language is very simple and clear. It will definitely make you think a lot about feminism and why it is necessary. It will also tell you why it is not a negative or hypocritical topic.

I would like to end with this quote from “Dear Ijeawele”.

Because you are a girl” is never a reason for anything. Ever.

What is your take on feminism? Have you read any book by Adichie? If yes, share your recommendations in comments.

I have written this post for #AtoZChallenge and my theme is “Love for the books”