Jim Iyke, the veteran Nollywood actor, has criticised the current form of feminism, saying it has deviated from its original purpose and now poses a threat to social harmony.
The 48-year-old actor made this known during a recent interview with The EchoRoom, where he described modern feminism as a campaign that has “gone too far” and now promotes unnecessary rivalry between men and women.
Iyke explained that the original feminist movement was created to address real issues such as patriarchy and gender imbalance. However, he claimed that the ideology has since transformed into what he described as a “distorted” movement.
“I consider it a crime, a kind of assault,” Iyke said.
He alleged that the modern version of feminism was introduced and promoted by a popular women’s magazine, which he refused to name. According to him, the magazine launched the campaign mainly as a marketing strategy to boost sales among its female readers.
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“The perpetrators of this… clearly, I would not name the magazine… launched a clever campaign to push sales. Who were their chief readers? Women. So they devised an ideology that allowed women to challenge the status quo and compete with men in the same space,” he stated.
Iyke further claimed that the campaign gradually evolved into a belief system where women were encouraged to reject male presence or support.
“This was a campaign that went too far, and certain women fully embraced the ideology,” he said.
“They decided that this whole ideology of ‘we do not need a man, anything a man can do we can do better’… escalated, and blew it out of proportion. Now it has been adopted as a lifestyle and a new cultural standard.”
The actor also criticised what he described as the “double standards” of the current feminist movement, adding that it encourages conflicting behaviour and fails to promote genuine gender cooperation.
“The double standard of it all is what makes me question the ideology in the first place. Do you not understand the falsehood of it? The two-faced approach to it?” he asked.
He emphasised the need for men and women to work together in harmony, stating that true balance can only be achieved when both genders respect their different roles.
“I believe men and women have distinct roles and when they work together in harmony, that is when true balance is achieved. That is what they are yet to understand,” he added.
