Popular Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie, recently shared her views on weddings as she posited that Western wedding traditions sideline the mother of the bride.
She made this known in an Instagram post on Wednesday where she recounted the role her mother played in her wedding, as opposed to “western wedding tradition.”
The renowned writer is popularly known for her feminist views, which were also reflected in her recent post.
She wrote, “I have always felt that western wedding traditions sideline the mother of the bride — the father walks the bride down the aisle, the father has the first dance with the bride, often the father gives a speech while the mother doesn’t.
”Our wedding, many years ago, was small and lovely, just as we wanted it. I asked family and friends not to post any photos publicly. I wanted privacy.
“But my need for privacy is now superseded by my desire to publicly honour the rare and wonderful woman I called my mother.
“And I hope this perhaps inspires any young women (and men) out there who are questioning any kind of convention.
“Before the wedding, I decided that both my parents would walk me down the aisle. And I decided that my first dance would be with my mother.
“My father, who I often teasingly called DOS for ‘Defender of Spouse,’ was very supportive.
“He wasn’t much of a dancer – I inherited his unrhythmic genes – but my mother was. And my mother’s joy on that day was a gorgeous glowing thing.”
According to Adichie, convention is something made up by somebody and then repeated by others.
She stated that if a person felt convention was wrong for them or their skin bristled and their spirit stalled at the thought of doing something “the way it is done”, then they should stop and act.
