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UNEQUAL LIVES<o:p></o:p>I was born Frances Abigail Olufunimilayo Thomas in what is now Nigeria. My parents were Christians and they believed strongly in the value of education. <o:p></o:p>We were ruled by the British. It meant things weren’t fair or equal – but I was lucky enough to go to the Abeokuta Grammar School, as one of their first female students. <o:p></o:p>I spoke in my own Yoruba&nbsp;language, but I also learned to speak English. At school, I thought a lot about Nigerian society, British rule and the unfair lives of the Yoruba women. <o:p></o:p>When I was 18, I went to Britain to finish my education at Wincham Hall School for Girls, located in the English countryside. I was taught French, how to speak ‘properly’ and dressmaking. It was a world away from my life in Africa. The girls here knew so little about me and my country. Yet in Nigeria we had to learn all about Britain. How could that be right? <o:p></o:p>MAKING A STATEMENT<o:p></o:p>As a step towards opposing British rule, I dropped my Christian names of Frances Abigail and started using my Yoruba name – Oluwafunmilayo (shortened to Funmilayo), which meant ‘God has given me joy’. And from then on, I preferred to speak Yoruba rather than English and wore my traditional clothing instead of Western outfits.<o:p></o:p>I went back to Nigeria and became a teacher at the Abeokuta Grammar School, where I had been a student. In1925, I married Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti. He had studied at the Abeokuta Grammar School a few years ahead of me, and like me, he was also now a teacher at the school.<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2F0f8578d6bf8d4630aa40b7a5b70a302a" alt="" style="width: 250.281px; height: 250.281px;"> <o:p></o:p>In 1932, Israel became the principal of the Abeokuta school. I followed his example and decided to organise the Abeokuta Ladies Club (ALC). It started out for mostly Western-educated women, but I wanted it to be for everyone and especially those women who didn’t have as much. <o:p></o:p>THE POWER OF WOMEN<o:p></o:p>I began organising reading and writing workshops for women who sold goods in the local market. The market women were taxed at higher rates than men, and they often had their goods seized for no reason. <o:p></o:p>In 1943, I encouraged women to protest. We chanted and sang from the streets, wanting more equal pay and rights and better healthcare. Singing was a tradition in the Yoruba culture. It was the way we circulated our news and expressed our opinion. In 1946, the ALC became the Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU), with over 20,000 women members.<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fb5a0a53c7c834125a1df47600780676f" alt="" style="width: 335px; height: 237.977px;"> <o:p></o:p>The women of Abeokuta were determined to make their voices heard. <o:p></o:p>Soldiers and elders looked on in disapproval and told us to go home and look after our families. Our demand that foreign companies pay more tax was ignored. Some of our women were arrested but continued to refuse to pay fines or taxes.<o:p></o:p>By late 1947, the authorities in Abeokuta started banning women from organising parades or demonstrations. So we said we were planning ‘picnics’ and ‘festivals’ instead. We sometimes got into trouble with the police and some of us even went to prison - including me.<o:p></o:p>I went to London to protest on behalf of the Yoruba women. I explained that, before Britain invaded our country, Nigerian women had equality.<o:p></o:p>NEVER STOP FIGHTING <o:p></o:p>People began to listen and sympathise with our cause and the newspapers called me the ‘Lioness of Lisabi’,as I was not afraid to roar about our cause. And I did it in countries all over the world until 1956, when the British took away my passport. <o:p></o:p>But I was not going to give up. I spoke in the language of the Yoruba people. This left the British struggling to understand. It was a clever move that swung the balance of power in our favour.<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fd4eefbf9ea6249c99f16f4b1a2b0f6c8" alt="" style="width: 282.7px; height: 421.875px;"> <o:p></o:p>In October 1960, Nigeria finally achieved independence from Britain. I made enemies but at 78 years old, I was not going to live my life in fear. <o:p></o:p>In 1978, Nigerian soldiers stormed my son Fela’s apartment. They wanted to teach our family a lesson about violence. <o:p></o:p>Violence is never the answer. Have confidence and speak up for yourself and for those around you.<o:p></o:p>GLOSSARY<o:p></o:p>Yoruba – an ethnic group of people who live in western Africa, mainly in Nigeria, Benin and Togo.<o:p></o:p>Workshops – classes where a small group of people learn new skills and how to do things. <o:p></o:p>Foreign – located outside of a place or country and especially outside of a person's own country.<o:p></o:p>LEGACY AND RECOGNITION<ul><li>Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti is remembered as the ‘Mother of Africa’ for her brave support of women’s rights.</li><li>She played a vital role in bringing about change by leading the Abeokuta Women’s Union, the largest women’s union in Africa.</li><li>Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’s love of education inspired her to teach women about their rights and freedoms and support them in their fight to achieve fairer conditions.</li><li>Nicknamed the ‘Lioness of Lisabi’ for her bravery, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria.</li><li>Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was awarded the Order of Nigeria by the Nigerian government in 1965 for her contribution to the nation.</li></ul>IMAGE CAPTIONS AND CREDITSRansome-Kuti family c.1940, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Abeokuta Women’s Union, Ransome-Kuti Family Archive, via BBC NewsRansome-Kuti on her 70th birthday, UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons&nbsp;

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