Synopsis:
The 2001 documentary “The Naked Option” depicts the uprising of women in the Niger Delta against oil and gas corporations Shell and Chevron which extract resources from their territories. The film focuses on two major uprisings which both took place in 2002, when the women of the community marched into the oil factories and stripped naked, stopping production in the Chevron facility for 10 days. According to Nigerian community practices, it is believed that a man who sees a woman naked will suffer a curse. After attempting other means of protest, the women in the community use their naked bodies as a last resort to resist the damage that Shell and Chevron caused in their communities. These effects include environmental damage through gas flares and water contamination, as well as social effects which reinforce colonial patriarchal values and further marginalize Nigerian women.
Rationale:
This documentary is important to transnational feminist practice because it exemplifies a grassroots initiative which uses community and traditional ways of knowing to resist neoliberal globalization. The film shows how Shell and Chevron echo colonial extraction practices by directly stealing natural resources for use within the United States and Canada, while ignoring the wellbeing of Nigerian communities whose resources are being extracted. Through their resistance, Nigerian women are rejecting the neoliberal idea that the world is dead and solely used for human benefit, highlighting the connection between transnational feminism and environmental stewardship. Finally, the film rejects Western feminist ideas that Africa needs “saving” by depicting Nigerian women as leaders in their communities. One of the main interviewees in the film is Emem J. Okon, who is the leader of Niger Delta Women for Justice, an organization led by Nigerian women that leads community workshops on rights, advocacy, and peaceful resistance. “The Naked Option” relates to the transnational topics of neoliberalism, community building, grassroots organization, decolonization, and environmental stewardship by depicting Nigerian women as resistors and cultural leaders.
Keywords: Nigeria, Globalization, Neoliberalism, Oil and Gas, Environmentalism
Author: jbb28
Even though I have not watched the documentary film, I commend the fight the Nigerian women put up against Shell and Chevron. I did some reading on the documentary and the two points that stood out to me are that the women we forced to use their bodies as a tool to gain attention and cause consequence, that they could be well educated but their voices would still be lost. As Emem Okon leader of the Kebetekace Women’s Development and Resource Center says “ “Education doesn’t reduce the risks but it provides women with the skills and knowledge to confront that risk. It makes them bolder. In my organisation, we don’t promote that option (of stripping naked) but if it…