Adichie states that even if she doesn't go to school or get a formal education she will be smarter than those who do - because she has read books her entire life. If your daughter sees you reading, she will understand how important books are and what she can learn from them.Teach her to read, teach her to love books. She mentions analogies used like “he’s driving but you are in the front seat”, to illustrate this destructive way of thinking.ĥ. That is ok for a woman to make her own money, have a job, dreams and goals but at the end of the day it shouldn’t interfere with her primary duties of being a wife and mother. Beware the danger of what I call Feminism Lite.įeminism Lite is the idea that female equality is conditional. Once women realize that there is nothing they need to do to get or keep a man, they will no longer see marriage as a prize they need to earn by doing those things.Ĥ. Adichie states that cooking and cleaning and taking care of children are skills that both men and women need to learn – it isn’t something that women are just born with. Boys are raised completely differently than girls, and the things girls are told they need to do, simply don’t apply to the boys. There is nothing that a girl should or should not be doing because she is a girl.

Teach her that ‘gender roles’ is absolute nonsense. She discusses how women shouldn’t use the term “help” when it comes to their husbands pitching in or taking care of their children – he is doing what he should be doing.ģ. It’s important for the mother and father to share the tasks around the house and raising the children. Also, stop using the line “doing it all”, because it implies that any domestic tasks are only for women and they somehow have to do it all. Being a mother shouldn’t only be who you are, but a part of who you are. She explains that while being a mother is wonderful thing, teach her not to solely define herself as being a mother. In a recent Facebook post, Adichie, outlined 15 points of advice on how to raise a feminist:

Chimamanda ngozi adichie manifesto