African beauty, under threat

diverse from country to country and from region to region. Thus, the Francophone African countries are slightly unique when compared with the Commonwealth African countries. More than 3 000 unique ethnic groups are recognised in Africa. African traditions, customs, languages, and culture are unique and also vary from country to country. In spite of the diversities, the ultimate African identity as portrayed by the colour of their skin is what makes Africans all over the world, one people, with a common destiny.
In the light of this, Peter Tosh, an African reggae legend from Jamaica, said this to Africans all over the world:
“ . . . Don’t care where you come from, as long as you’re black, you’re an African. It doesn’t matter whether you were born in Cuba, Portland, France, Brooklyn, Brixton, Canada, Germany, Russia, you’ve got the identity of an African. Don’t mind your nationality. Never mind your religious denomination because it is only a tool for segregation. Whether you’re a Methodist, a Catholic, a Muslim, whether you go to the Church of God or whatever your religion; there is no rejection. Even if your complexion is high or low, you’re still an African. Be proud of your African identity . . .”
By this, one can clearly understand that the African identity goes far beyond mere nationalities, place of birth and religious denominations. As far as the African identity is concerned, there cannot be and should never be expressions like: African-American, British-African, Afro-Latino, Franco Africana, etc. The African is and will always be an African regardless of where he/she was born.
Culture can be defined as the way of life of a people in a given society. It is characterised by beliefs, traditions, customs, religions and others. A people’s culture can be seen in the food they eat, the kind of clothes they wear, their music, dance, values (what is acceptable to them as a people) and to some extent, their perception of life.
Like other cultures, the modern African culture places emphasis on personal appearance. Beads, jewellery and other similar items, remained an important personal accessory in the life of the African woman.
Many pieces of such jewellery are made of cowry shells, wood and similar materials. African cultures are diverse and varied; not static, and like most of the world have been impacted upon by external forces. During the post-colonial era, African women and African fashion played an important role in showcasing Africa’s beauty in what was then referred to as “The pride of the African woman”.
As the African fashion gained momentum, African women demonstrated the pride of their beauty, by dressing with dignity and making sure that all sensitive parts of their bodies were adequately covered. Practices such as indecent exposure; exposed cleavage, naked tummy, the exposure of all other sensitive body parts were completely unacceptable to the African woman who placed her dignity far above anything else. As a result African women were highly respected by society because dignity and respect were very essential requirements for them to find a responsible man for marriage.
However, the advent of Western civilisation: hip-hop music, Rn’B, and indecent dressing portrayed by fashion, has recently cast a dark shadow over the pride of the African beauty. African women of today, both young and old can shamelessly walk the streets virtually naked in the name of fashion.
Some even go to church improperly attired: luscious breasts exposed, transparent dresses, mini skirts and all manner of extreme body exposure that only seek to harass their male counterparts. They watch movies where such lifestyles are considered to be “hot” and “sexy”. Therefore the African woman thinks that it is alright to expose her precious assets for the world to behold even if it means risking her dignity. Little or no attention whatsoever is paid to human conscience.
After all, being “sexy” is all that matters.
According to one estimate, African girls of today spend more money on fashion than what they spend on books and food combined. From pedicure to manicure, skin bleaching cosmetics, hair relaxers, wigs, weaves, eyelashes, nails, among others. Many women in the universities even go to the extreme: they blow part of their school fees on items that will make them look sexy. Take Nigeria for example, it is estimated that Nigeria has a population of about 155 million with about 56 percent between the ages of 16-54 years old. Out of these age group women are more than 40 million.
Therefore with over 40 million women in Nigeria, if each one of them spends at least US$1 a week on any of the above items, how much will that be? At least that is US$40million dollars per week, making it about US$150/month. Mind you this figure just applies to Nigeria only. What about the women across all the 54 African countries combined? Everyday, Korean and Brazilian families thank black women for giving their countries US$16, 4 million dollars each. The low self-esteem of African women is making them very rich and they’re happy about that. — Mathaba.