By Dr. Fatima Babih
In the illustrious kingdom of West Africa, high up on the Lion Mountain, a saga has unfolded, blending tragedy and farce, painting a vivid portrait of thwarted independence and the folly of patriarchal traditions.
Sara, the radiant jewel in the crown of her Mighty Father’s Kingdom, inherited a land of unparalleled wealth and abundance. Adorned with rivers, an ocean, fertile vegetation, and endless riches of diamonds and gold, her domain seemed a paradise untold. Yet, behind this facade of abundance lay a tale of perpetual misfortune and feminine subjugation.
In Sara’s culture, true independence for a woman of her stature is an elusive dream, shackled to the whims of her male alliances. According to their antiquated customs, her worth and self-sufficiency are tied to the man who becomes the caretaker of her vast land and wealth, relegating women like her to a perpetual cycle of dependency and disillusionment.
The chronicle of Sara’s search for self-sufficiency reads like a tragicomedy of errors, each caretaker in her life more inept and detrimental to her independence than the last. From the dashing Milton to the controlling Siaka and the bumbling Ernest to the tyrannical Julius, Sara’s independence odyssey has been a carousel of misfortune, spinning her deeper into the abyss of destitution and despair.
As Sara languishes in poverty, her once-gleaming inheritance plundered and squandered by a succession of incompetent and corrupt caretakers, her queendom has descended into chaos. Education for her children is shattered, healthcare crumbles, and with no electricity, darkness envelopes her once-bright land, casting a gloom over her children’s aspirations.
But amidst the wreckage of her shattered dreams, Sara gleaned a revelation of profound significance. It was not her weakness that condemned her to perpetual servitude but the systemic inequities that privilege men at the expense of women’s empowerment in her culture.
In a moment of clarity in this, the 63rd year of her search for independence, Sara vows to shatter the chains of patriarchal oppression and usher in a new era of equality and opportunity for her daughters. Despite their marginalized status, they have held the key to the queendom’s salvation, their untapped potential a beacon of hope in a sea of despair.
And so, with steely resolve and unwavering determination, Sara hopes to embark on a crusade for gender equality, rallying her daughters to stand shoulder to shoulder in defiance of biased tradition and injustice toward them. For in their unity lies the promise of a brighter future, where the legacy of Sara’s queendom in the Lion Mountain would be defined not by the folly of its past but by the triumph of its women in their Beloved Land.
In this satirical saga of failed independence in Sierra Leone, the true irony lay not in her fortunes squandered but in the wealth of untapped potential awaiting her liberation—a tale as poignant as it is profound, echoing across the annals of history as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
#Aluta Continua
#The Struggle Continues
#LongLiveMamaSalone
#GodBlessSierraLeone
MAMA SALONE ~ Lioness of the West Coast 