The late women's rights champion, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, readily came to the mind of AUN's Ruth Bala on the occasion of the International Women's Day (IWD) 2020.
The fourth-year Communications & Multimedia Design major and Vice President of Women Leadership Council (WLC) addressed more than 50 girls who attended the March 8 celebration at AUN where she spoke on "Decency, formal dressing, and etiquette."
She described IWD as a celebration of women and their successes. "The ones who have done it before us and the ones that will come after."
She did not only remember the late activist for being Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's mother and being the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria.
"Besides, she's done so much for us. She is the reason that I am standing here today...so many of us would not even have had the opportunity to go to school and even stand here and air our opinions. But she made it possible for people like myself and all of you here to go to school, speak English, and even stand here and talk to you."
She continued with a little of her unique achievement for the female gender.
Mrs. Ransome-Kuti also made it possible for Nigerian women to be accorded suffrage rights. And not just to vote but also contest elections. "Sometimes, you win; sometimes you don't. The most important thing is that we get to have a voice with our ballots."
Central to her talk to the secondary school students was leadership. And dressing has got a big role to play in leadership, she said.
"And part of this would be how you dress; how people perceive you. You have to be attracted to me for you to know what I have on the inside. But if I am dressed like a leader that I want to become one day, then you would want to listen to what this leader has to say."
Reported by Omorogbe Omorogiuwa