Actress Lola Idije of Nollywood fame has spoken out against the pressure on young women to tie the knot, arguing that some women are meant to be married at a later age and that society has no business criticising them for choosing to have families without spouses.
While defending mothers who choose to raise their children alone, Lola made the comments during her interview on the Africanlist Podcast.
The presence of a husband to assist in childrearing is not guarantyd to all women. The onus is squarely on women to bear it all. She emphasised that not everyone opts for such lifestyle.
Not having a partner does not make a woman irresponsible, the actress maintained, adding that some women become single mothers due to circumstances beyond their control.
Then she went on to wonder how anyone could know that a young woman who marries at the age of twenty-one would not end up with the incorrect spouse, and she cast doubt on the validity of the marriage-pressure argument.
She argued that it was impossible to prevent young people from marrying the wrong person if pressure to do so begins when they are 20 years old.
She went on to explain, “When women start giving birth, they become softer.” This was Lola’s second time discussing parenting.