Over the last few weeks, the audacity of any woman proposing to a man, has become a debate among many Nigerians.
Despite the excitement that is often said to come with allowing men to “pop the question”, some feel a woman should be able to turn the table around and do the proposing.
This debate was triggered by a viral video showing an unidentified young woman in high heels dropping to her knees to propose to her boyfriend, who turned her down instantly at the Ikeja City Mall, Lagos few weeks ago.
But while these kinds of rejections may have placed a dark cloud on the idea of a woman proposing to a man, some women have had successes.
In June 2017, Edo comedienne, Etinosa Idemudia, took the bull by the horns and went down on bended knee to propose to her boyfriend, Bucci Franklin, in a restaurant, in the full glare of public attention.
“Not every time wait for bae to propose (sic). Sometimes take the bull by the horns. I was so nervous but he said yes!” she wrote on a picture of the scene she posted on Instagram afterwards.
In 2015, a Nigerian woman won the admiration of many, when she went down on bended knee at her place of work and proposed to her boyfriend. Her photographs, which circulated on blogs and news sites at the time, showed her co-workers gushing about the romantic gesture as her boyfriend accepted the proposal with a kiss on the forehead.
But some women, who shared their opinions with Saturday PUNCH, supported the idea of a woman proposing to a man.
According to an entrepreneur and marketer, Omolara Seweje, women who take such steps are brave and should be praised.
She, however, discouraged women from taking their proposal to a public space.
A broadcaster, Foluso Ojo, shared the same sentiments. She told our correspondent that many women who criticise women who propose to men would probably do the same thing if not because they are still being caged by societal opinion.
She said this explained why Nigerians go abroad to do things they could not do at home due to societal rules.
“In this new age, if you are interested in a man, there is nothing wrong with telling a man how you feel. But our society is such that women would rather keep their feelings inside and die with it because no one wants to be seen as cheap,” Ojo said.
PUNCH