Foundation Throws Light on Effects of Westernisation on Cultural Value System

On July 31, Favour Benson, the founder of her Jashabel Touch-A-Heart Foundation (JTAH Foundation), held the annual National Women and Girl Child Stakeholder Conference in Lagos. The day which doubles as her 50th birthday celebration attracted stakeholders from various corporate organisations, government parastatals, as well as traditional rulers as they tackled the theme ‘Westernisation, Education, Culture and Religion: The Effect on Today’s Family’, Vanessa Obioha reports 

Inarguably, no culture remains the same over many generations. Over time, there is a shift through acculturation. This has been the case for the dying cultural value system suffered by many ethnic groups in Nigeria by factors of westernisation. 

To be sure, the fruits of westernisation have brought about a marked advancement in various aspects that include government, technology, and generally, an improvement in the living conditions of millions of Nigerians. 

However, no two cultures are the same, as certain tenets do not align with the other. For instance, the adoption of western education has placed more value on acquiring either French or English as the official language, a pattern many colonised countries in Africa have adopted. But this has not been the case in many countries in Asia that still retain their vernacular as the official language. 

Because culture is learned, certain vital elements are chipped at, reducing their value and significance as it is passed on to the next generation of custodians. Enculturation is weakened. As agreed upon by many scholars, culture is the totality of how people live and behave. It encompasses knowledge, belief, arts, and society, which are conditioned by virtue and values. 

Before the arrival of the colonial masters, women, in many societies, played important sociocultural and socioeconomic roles. By nature, these societies exhibited some iteration of a democratic government. What differentiated western democracy from the traditional government was the exclusion of women from playing vital roles. Foreign religions adopted at the time also dictated who played what roles. 

The implication of this singular action, over the years, gradually placed women in vulnerable positions. And these have trickled down to reflect how families are being raised to fit into contemporary global standards even though the feminist move is gaining ground. But that, too, comes with its numerous baggage based on individual interpretations.

With the intervention of many concerned bodies like the Jashabel Touch-A-Heart Foundation (JTAH Foundation), women are stepping up to take the front seat and in turn, inspiring a new set of young women and girls. 

Furthering this course of promoting the welfare and interest of women and the girl child in Nigeria, the foundation recently held its annual National Women and Girl Child Stakeholder Conference in Lagos.

Attracting stakeholders from various corporate organisations, government parastatals, as well as traditional rulers, the conference was themed  ‘Westernisation, Education, Culture and Religion: The Effect on Today’s Family’. 

For Benson, the theme is a call-to-action and cultural reawakening for families to understand and solve the contemporary issues women and girls suffer, and by extension, create a chain of reaction for overall sociocultural and economic attainment. 

“Culture didn’t erode our value system. I think it’s the parents. Some children between the ages of 10 and 14 years can’t speak their language, they don’t know their village. This presents a disconnect, and that’s where culture comes in,” Benson explained. 

“These days, you can’t question a child without the mother or father coming the next day to say, ‘who made you my child’s teacher?’ It is sickening because that was not how we were brought up. There is a lack of discipline stemming from abandoning our culture. We have to connect our culture with whatever we are doing to make us who we really are,” she added. 

Delivering the keynote, Commissioner of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf elucidated strategic models that could be adopted toward empowering women and the girl child. Some of the highlights from her keynote included the adoption of community parenting styles, seeking mental health support and sex education, promoting cultural norms, and supervising the use of social media tools. 

“If we train a child, especially a girl child through a proper upbringing that entails discipline, proper care, we are building a better world for ourselves,” Akinbile-Yussuf noted. 

“The way our parents trained us, what most would call the ‘crude’ method, is not the way we are training our children. We let our culture be harmed, and everything has become westernised. There is a difference between discipline and abuse. The only thing we owe our children is love, let us discipline them.”

Established in 2000, the foundation which prides itself as a haven for women and girls in need, also launched Touch magazine which features some of its past projects and elaborated plans to kickstart future ones, all geared toward female empowerment in various capacities. 

Additionally, the conference coincided with Benson’s golden jubilee celebration. She was honoured by close family and friends, colleagues and partners for her contributions to the indigents in society.