SPEAKER_00: Hey, y'all.I'm Erin Haines.I'm the editor-at-large for The 19th News, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, and policy.I'm also the host of a brand-new weekly podcast from The 19th News and Wonder Media Network called The Amendment.Each week, we're bringing you a conversation about gender, politics, and the unfinished work of American democracy. Our very first episode features my dear friend and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Nicole Hannah-Jones.It's out now.So please go listen and follow the show.On top of all of this, I'm your guest host for this month of Womanica. This Black History Month, we're talking about revolutionaries, the Black women who led struggles for liberation from violent governments, colonial rulers, and enslavers.
These women had the courage to imagine radically different worlds, and they used their power to try and pull those worlds into view. When today's Wamanakin was born, Nigeria was colonized by the British, and women weren't allowed to vote.By the time she died, Nigeria was independent, and women had more rights and representation than ever before, thanks in part to her tireless activism.Let's talk about Margaret Ekpo.Margaret was born in Calabar, Nigeria, in 1914. She attended primary and secondary school, an opportunity that was not available to many girls at the time.She would have continued her education, if not for the death of her father in 1934, which changed her plans and kept her home with her family.When Margaret was 24, she married a medical practitioner named John Udo Ekpo. In 1944, the pair traveled to Ireland, and Margaret enrolled in the Rathmine School of Domestic Economics in Dublin.Margaret got her degree, and after some time, the couple returned to Nigeria.
John worked at Aba General Hospital, while Margaret ran a domestic training school, where she taught women dressmaking, bookkeeping, and home economics. Margaret's political consciousness began when she started attending community meetings to discuss racial discrimination in civil services.This was especially important to Margaret, whose doctor husband was a civil servant.At the meetings, Nigerians discussed the poor working conditions, lower wages, and lack of promotions they faced at work.Seeing the ways Nigerians were treated unfairly under colonialism radicalized Margaret. Margaret became more entrenched in politics in November 1949, after the Anugu colliery strike.Miners at the British-owned coal mines were protesting against unfair dismissals, wages, and poor working conditions.Markets and shops in neighboring towns closed in solidarity as women joined the protests.One day, the protests in Eva Valley reached a peak.Police opened fire and killed 20 miners and one bystander.
Following the massacre, Margaret was pushed into political action.A British colonial administrator testified during a hearing that Margaret convened a meeting.He said at that meeting, Margaret said, quote, had any black woman been injured in Enugu, she would go into the first house in Aba Division where she could find a white woman and would shoot her dead. In 1954, Margaret founded the ABBA Township Women's Association, or the ATWA, and she had a unique plan to get members.She purchased every single bag of salt at ABBA Market.At this time, the world was still feeling the effects of World War II.Essentials like salt were in short supply and high demand.Margaret and other members of the ATWA would sell the salt if the buyers agreed to register for their organization first. The tactic worked.The ATWA was soon a robust political organization.
Joining forces with other local women's organizations, they spoke out against colonization and fought for representation in electoral politics.In 1957, Margaret herself earned a seat on the Abba District Council Caretaker Committee.Margaret became a well-known advocate for women's rights, not just in local politics, but around the country and even globally. She often served as an advisor for the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, or NCNC.The NCNC was the predominant political party at the time, and in her role, she represented the eastern region of Nigeria at constitutional conferences in Lagos and London.She was one of a very small handful of women to attend these constitutional negotiations. In 1959, Margaret was appointed special member to the Eastern House of Chiefs, one of the three regional legislatures.She was one of only two female members.Margaret addressed this discrepancy in her inaugural speech, but she was politically savvy and quick to assure her fellow members that she was grateful for the position. She said, quote, Margaret used her position to advance the rights of women.
She hoped to extend her reach by holding an elected position, but party leadership thought it was too risky to present a female candidate. On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from Britain.And just as the tide turned for the nation, so too did it turn for Margaret.In 1961, NCNC party leadership gave her the approval to run for an elected position in the Eastern House of Assembly.She won.Now an elected legislator, Margaret doubled down on women's issues. Nigeria was emancipated from Britain, and she was determined for Nigerian women to undergo their own emancipation.She focused particularly on women's education, representation on corporate boards, and the needs and rights of female farmers.Other women inspired by Margaret started running for office around the country and gaining more seats in the local government.Margaret held office until 1966, when the Nigerian government was overthrown in a military coup.
For more than a decade afterward, the country was under turmoil as it oscillated between military dictatorships and democratically elected governments.Not much is known about Margaret during this time, though she spent some time detained.Margaret passed away on September 21, 2006.She was 92 years old.Before she died, the state government commemorated her legacy and renamed Calabar Airport the Margaret Ekpo International Airport. All month, we're talking about revolutionaries.For more information, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram at Womanica Podcast.Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan for having me as a guest host.Talk to you tomorrow.
