All About Women and Art (Almost All)

Make New Friends & Keep the Old

Today I spoke to 150 women who are part of the Y’s Women of Westport. I am always pleased to have an attentive audience and challenging questions, and they provided both!

Their list of programs and activities is impressive – Mah Jong, bridge, book groups, trips overseas and to New York City, an investment club, and many others.

Several women commented afterwards how grateful they were to learn about a country and continent of which they often hear only bad news.

Quite a few were also interested in my jacket, made of mud cloth.

There were three women I knew from IESC, the International Executive Service Corps, where I worked for three years in the early 1990’s.

I hadn’t seen Wilma since then. Martha has been active in the Democratic Party of Westport as well as other town organizations, so I see her frequently. I didn’t know Jean well; she was overseas during a good part of my time with the group.

I need to remember to get the lighting right for photos. We obviously shouldn’t stand in front of a window on a bright day.

There were also two Mount Holyoke alums in the audience, one I already knew and another to whom I was introduced. Then a woman at the gym this morning said, “You’re speaking to us today, aren’t you?” She reminded me after the talk that I had already seen her earlier.

The president, Sheila, was efficient and organized, a pleasure to work with.

Sheila, Wilma, and Andi, who has already read my book, took me to lunch after the presentation.

So a fun event. Now I’m looking forward to the next, which is a meeting with the International Authors Book Club at Fairfield Library on Wednesday evening. They are discussing Americanah, Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, and invited me to come to share information about Nigeria and the book.

President Buhari and Women in Politics

President Buhari has announced the budget for the coming year. He describes, “the 2016 budget proposal as good for employment and manufacturing.” He says, “By the end of the second quarter, the full impact of these positive measures will be felt.”

What I liked best about the article, however, was the description of the first organization to visit him in 2016.  “The Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), comprising women leaders from 26 political parties, [was] led by Barr. Ebere Ifendu of the Labour Party.” In their visit to him at the Aso Rock Villa, the Nigerian presidential home, the WIPF declared support for the federal government’s war against corruption and insecurity.

But they had other issues to raise too. “The forum, which sought laws that would promote gender equity, also urged action on the implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act.”

I was happy to read that the women are working for gender equity and an end to violence against women. I was also surprised to see they represented 26 political parties! I wouldn’t have guessed there were that many.

But the areas of women’s issues they spoke about are major. So the first group to visit Buhari in 2016 had the right agenda!

Uli Art

Igbo women have traditionally decorated their bodies and sometimes their buildings with geometric designs in a practice known as uli, or uri. Professor Uche Okeke, aa artist strongly influenced by the practice of uli, died recently. The notice of his death reminded me of the tradition.

I learned that his “early work ranged from pen and ink portraits, to  figures rendered in pen and ink and based upon Igbo tales . . . He created images of Igbo spirits, mythic figures, and masqueraders in various media.”

A Google search led me to a book about the women keeping the tradition alive, Legendary Uli Women of Nigeria which came out last year.

One more reference with an informative article and pictures is from Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford.

Then I wondered if the mud cloth of my jacket is related? No idea.

Attacking Corruption

There is certainly a perception in Nigeria that corruption cannot continue as it had in recent years. A few people have been arrested and probes are ongoing.

Maybe it’s a good sign that the opposition party is complaining that their people are being unfairly targeted. To me, it’s a sign that change is underway.

ThisDay says, “The [PDP] faulted the continued incarceration of its spokesman by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since Tuesday without trial describing it as a clear evidence of the dictatorial tendencies of the Buhari-led APC Federal Government  and warned that the country was now being turned into a police state with its inherent constitutional violations.”

The PDP was in power from 1999 to 2015. They were unable to defeat Boko Haram; it’s said that money meant for the army was diverted. They lost to Buhari, though they still have party members in the legislature. Is that why they are complaining?

Professor Wole Soyinka, the world-famous Nigerian playwright and poet and Nobel laureate, was quoted in the Nigerian media on Saturday with praise for Buhari.

According to Naij.com, Soyinka spoke to Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian minister of information and culture, saying, “President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is effectively tackling corruption, exposing the vice at a level no administration has reached before.”

May it be so!