Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
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Funmilayo Ransome Kuti (1900-1978) is described by many as the doyen of female rights in Nigeria and was regarded as “The Mother of Africa,” as she was a very powerful force at a time when it was a taboo for women to be heard and as a fighter of womens right to vote. Described in 1947, by the West African Pilot as the “Lioness of Lisabi as the leader of Egba women on a campaign against arbitrary taxation of women, that struggle led to the abdication of the Egba King Oba Ademola II in 1949. Her husband, Rev. I.O. Ransome-Kuti, fought for commoners too, and was one of the founders of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in the 1930s and of the Nigerian Union of Students (NUS). She is the mother of human right activists: Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Musical legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Doctor Beko Kuti, and their sister Dolupo.
[edit] Life
Funmilayo Kuti's grandfather was a son of a repatriated slave from Sierra Leone. He became a member of the the Anglican Faith and soon returned to the homeland of his ancestors, Abeokuta. Funmilayo Kuti was born in Abeokuta, she attended the Abeokuta Grammar school for secondary education and later, went to England for further studies. She soon returned to Nigeria and became a teacher, a few years later she married Israel Oludotun Ransome Kuti.
[edit] Activism
Throughout her career, she was known as an educator and activist. She founded an organization for women in Abeokuta, with a membership tally of over 20 thousand individuals spanning both literate and illiterate women. She launched the organization into public consciousness when she rallied women against price controls which was hurting market women. Trading was one of the major occupation of women in western Nigeria at the time. In 1949, she led a protest against Native Authorities, especially against the Alake of Egbaland. She presented documents alleging abuse of authority by the Alake, who had been granted right to collect taxes. She also led the successful abolishment of separate tax rates for women. In 1953, she founded the Federation of Nigerian Women Societies which formed an alliance with the Women's International Democratic Federation. Originally, she was a member of NCNC, but was later expelled by the party after she chose to run as an independent when the party snubbed her as a candidate for a federal house seat. After, her suspension, her political voice was diminished due to the direction of national politics, as both powerful members of the opposition, Awolowo and Adegbenro, had support close by. However, She never let her voice and activism be diminished. In 1978, she suffered injuries after a confrontation with some military personnel. She died later as a result of the injuries.
[edit] References
- Nina Mbe and Cheryl Johnson-Odim: "For Women and the Nation: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti of Nigeria." Journal of Women's History, 13 (2): 190, Summer 2001.
