Domesticating Ivoirité : Equating xenophobic nationalism and women’s marginalisation in Tanella Boni’s Matins de couvre-feu (2005) (original) (raw)
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Since the dawn of time, women generally have had fewer legal rights and status in society than their male counterparts. The continuous subordination and suppression of women are further aggravated by traditions, cultural beliefs and religions of most societies which favor patriarchy. Using the radical feminist approach, the present paper attempts an exploration of patriarchy as an aspect of culture which helps to subordinate women as highlighted in Nawal El Saadawi's A Woman at Point Zero (1983), Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood (1979), and Amma Darko's Beyond the Horizon (1995). It also examines the steps taken by the women to free themselves from the ‚chains‛ of male domination and oppression. The study revealed that cultural practices such as polygamy, female genital mutilation and sexual abuse facilitate the abuse, subjugation and oppression of women in the novels under study. The study has implications for the theory of feminism and literary criticisms.
THE PLIGHT OF MIGRANT WOMEN IN SELECTED NOVELS OF ADIMORA-EZEIGBO AND UNIGWE
Migration has continued to attract the interest of scholars and critics of Nigerian literature, especially as Nigerian migrants are constantly victims of xenophobia. The migrants, particularly the women, are grossly objectified and insufferably abused, both nationally and internationally. There have been spates of incarcerations, killings and deportation of migrant women in different parts of the world: Italy, Malaysia, Libya, to mention but a few. There have also been records of deaths and harrowing experiences of female migrants in the Mediterranean Seas and the Sahara Desert. It is against this backdrop that this study adopts Post-colonial Feminism to analyse the motivations and experiences of the female migrant characters as post-colonial subjects in the Diaspora. Female characters from Chika Unigwe's On Black Sisters' Street and Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo's Trafficked are studied in order to ascertain the extent to which the cultural environment, legacies of colonialism and neocolonialism interplay to influence the decisions taken by these women. It is discovered that the woefully pathetic plight of migrant Nigerian women is a product of a disordered psyche induced by the socio-political, economic and cultural realities prevalent in postcolonial Nigeria. This study recommends that women empowerment and sustainable developmental policy implementation can help to curtail the psycho-emotional realities that are capable of misleading young Nigerian women.
Babilónia: Línguas, Culturas e Traducao, No. 13 (2013), Lusofonia Pós-colonial: Línguas, Literaturas e Identidades
The exploitation and trauma of the colonised nation has often been written upon the female body, and in turn the land has been accorded feminine characteristics. European colonisers talked of their divine, patriotic mission to penetrate virgin lands in order to inseminate them with the seed of civilisation. This allegory evolved in postcolonial discourse into the figurative rape of the colonised land and the societies that inhabited them. With the figuring of the nation as family (McClintock, 1993) the innate femininity of the native land was perpetuated in African nationalists’ and Pan-Africanists’ romanticisation of their origins as Mother Africa. This paper will examine the gendering of the bodies upon which the narrative of the nation is written in the three novels of the Bissau-Guinean author Abdulai Sila. A Última Tragédia (1995), his second published work but whose narrative sits chronologically first of his three novels, centres on the trope of the female Africa in inscribing the colonial nation upon the body of his protagonist Ndani as she symbolically undergoes the physical, psychological and cultural violations which likewise oppressed the nation. Eterna Paixão (1994) features the romanticisation of Africa as the loving, vital, fecund Mother, a symbolism which spills onto female bodies as the African American protagonist’s tempestuous connection with the post colonial continent is reflected in his relationships with the homely African Mother figure and the sexually charged, morally deviant African Woman. Finally, this paper will explore and interrogate Sila’s innovative evolution of the post-independence national body into the emasculated man in Mistida (1997). Here the male body becomes the site upon which the corruption and political violence brewing in the years preceding the 1998 civil war and their grave consequences upon Guinea Bissau’s social fabric are figured in the physical disabilities, psychological scarring and social incapacities of poignantly male characters.
2021
Theorizing the roots of feminism in the specific African experience has been a quest by a number of prominent African female writers. They have avidly reflected on it in their various creative and critical outputs. The inherent ideological differences among these writers in their quest for an African variant of feminism, owing to the peculiarities of their respective sociocultural settings, has led to what critics have contentiously regarded as ‘voices’ in African feminism. Against this backdrop, on the one hand, Charles Nnolim (1994) [2010] argues that feminism in African literature is “a house divided”. On the other hand, Chioma Opara (2013), in contention with the former, posits that it is rather “a house integrated”. The present study thus establishes the two critical poles as wherein the entire gamut of critical and theoretical points of contentions in African feminism is largely subsumed. Neither of the two paradigms is discredited in favor or defense of the other, noting thei...
2018
This dissertation takes a generational look at issues of identity construction of the African and African diasporic woman, in regard to gender, race/ethnicity and class, from the late twentieth to the beginning of the twenty-first century African women's fiction writing. This dissertation examines Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter and the journey of Aissatou, its female character, to establish not only the sort of debut of the diasporic African woman's migration, but also her self-expression through her choices and views vis-à-vis patriarchal and imperialist institutions, hence she overturns gender, race/ethnic and class institutions of her society. Buchi Emecheta's Second-Class Citizen has also been discussed along with So Long a Letter to enhance the discussion on the debut of the African woman's migration and her self-representation and self-assertiveness in the African diasporic arena. To establish how the identity construction and the choices of this type of female character evolves in African migration literature, the dissertation uses Chimamanda N. Adichie's Americanah and its approach to societal institutions that affect her protagonist, Ifemelu, in terms of gender, race/ethnicity and class. While So Long a Letter and Americanah place the African woman at the center of their narrative, they also take interest in the relationship between the female character and her male counterpart. From this perspective, this dissertation establishes that the story of the African male characters, in the diasporic context, intersects with as well as parallels with the story of the female characters. This intersection establishes the ground for the critique of patriarchal and imperialist institutions in both the host and home places; institutions that affect the gender, race/ethnicity and class identity of the female character, not only as a woman, but as a black, and as a minority. Americanah also creates instances where v mainstream views and concepts of social constructs regarding gender, race/ethnicity and class have been turned upside down. Thus, for instance, the reader becomes the witness of a transnational phenomenon of reverse migration in terms of class between, a said majority, Nigel, and a minority, Obinze. Mainstream African feminism and the African worldview in general have argued against and rejected any sort of radicalism in their approach to social issues, especially, women's issues. This dissertation argues that the African and African diasporic woman in both So Long a Letter and Americanah present radical, yet constructive qualities which ensure her social mobility. I establish that her radicalism is contextualized in African culture and therefore does not seek to destroy the core values of African culture and beliefs. The female characters discussed in this dissertation have been radical towards both their home and host countries' institutions and expectations that affect them as black, minorities, and women. In both novels, the female characters question discriminatory institutions; moreover, in particularly Americanah, the female protagonist questions not only discriminatory social constructs and institutions outside her identity, but also those that she identifies with. Thus, a particular attention has been given to the notion of alterity/other and 'self' in the process of identity construction of the African radical feminist. The dissertation reasonably argues that African feminism has a contextualized radicalism in African culture and African worldview. Yet, it has simply rejected the attribute of radical mainly due to the leanings of western radical feminism with which most Africans do not identify. Thus, this dissertation fills a gap in African feminist scholarship, and also in African diasporic and global migration discourse with a vi theoretical perspective of African constructive radical feminism. It calls upon scholars across disciplines, gender and race/ethnicity, and class spectrums to further research in these perspectives and carry on the project of a fair and new world for all, regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, and class that this dissertation project has begun. The dissertation ends with a short public opinion piece on issues of illusion and disillusion in migration, with the aim to contribute solutions to the endemic migration tragedy, turning into a form of modern slavery of Africa and its youth population. Here, in addition to using current news to discuss the issue of illusion and disillusion in migration, I have used Adichie's Americanah and two short stories-"The Thing Around Your Neck" and "The Arrangers of Marriage"-from her collection of short stories, The Thing Around Your Neck. vii Dedication First, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to God, my Strength and my Redeemer! To my lovely and dear son Dzidula, you are everything to me. Thank you for bearing my long absences, for staying with babysitters, friends, and even spending the night with them sometimes; all because your mom alone couldn't always handle all the stress and the workload! Your name Dzidula means, God Is the Winner! And yes, God has won for us. He has given you and me victory over all! I Love You So Much! A special dedication to my dear and beloved father, the late Essoneya Toyou Emmanuel Patabadi. Thank you! You have made sure I'm educated. Unfortunately, death has taken you too soon. I would like to honor you with this doctoral dissertation! I wish you were still alive to see this day and to celebrate it with me. "Docteur Vétérinaire," as your friends used to affectionately address you, today, your daughter has become a Doctor in Philosophy. May your Soul Rest in Peace! To my dearest mother, Adigbli Afi Kafui Alice Dieu-Donne. Your unfailing support and sacrifice for us, especially when papa left this world and things became hard, has made me realize how you love and care and how you always wished you could have had more to offer your children. Thank you for your support throughout my graduate studies in the US and through all the hardship I encountered here. I would like to thank the support group God has put on my way in Binghamton: my dear friends Susie and Gary Ganoung, their family and friends; the International Students Incorporated volunteers, Bill and
2015
Simone James Alexander examines migration flows and transnational ties through a gendered framework that challenges a predominantly male-constructed migratory process. Her definition of diaspora transcends geography to include imaginative spaces created through “collective memories, myths, and rituals” (8). Through the works of four migrant women writers—Audre Lourde, Edwidge Danticat, Maryse Conde, and Grace Nichols— she evaluates the sexual deviance embodied in diseased, disabled, and hypersexualized female bodies, as well as women’s resistance against normative classifications.
2022
The present study explores the inferences of language and gender construction within North-African states. Enthused by Assia Djebar, francophone novelist, and Ahlem Mostaghanemi, arabophone novelist, it purposes to examine how the notions of freedom and language are profoundly entwined. Centering on their womanist discourse, it scrutinizes how historiography and gender determination impact identity construction. The study also inspects the import of language as a powerful instrument in articulating Algerian female self-determination. In the light of Djebar's L'Amour, la fantasia (1985), and Mostaghanemi's Dhakirat al-Jasad (1993), this study explores Arabic and French languages as sociological instruments for women's freedom. Through the stratagem of comparative study, it scrutinizes how history and autobiography provide the perfect site to discuss political resilience in the midst of a male hegemonic social system. More precisely, it highlights the notions of postcolonialism and identity politics that need querying the North-African familial schemes and the broader social dilemmas. système social hégémonique masculin. Plus précisément, elle met en lumière les notions de postcolonialisme et de politique identitaire qui nécessitent une remise en question des schémas familiaux nord-africains et des dilemmes sociaux exogènes.
CULTURE: A VESSEL FOR FEMALE SUBORDINATION IN THREE AFRICAN NOVELS
Since the dawn of time, women generally have had fewer legal rights and status in society than their male counterparts. The continuous subordination and suppression of women are further aggravated by traditions, cultural beliefs and religions of most societies which favor patriarchy. Using the radical feminist approach, the present paper attempts an exploration of patriarchy as an aspect of culture which helps to subordinate women as highlighted in Nawal El Saadawi's A Woman at Point Zero (1983), Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood (1979), and Amma Darko's Beyond the Horizon (1995). It also examines the steps taken by the women to free themselves from the ‚chains‛ of male domination and oppression. The study revealed that cultural practices such as polygamy, female genital mutilation and sexual abuse facilitate the abuse, subjugation and oppression of women in the novels under study. The study has implications for the theory of feminism and literary criticisms.
Journal of International Women's Studies Unbending Gender Narratives in African Literature
The last century has witnessed an upsurge in literature triggered by the feminist movement. This unprecedented event has transformed the various literary genres that are being deconstructed to suit the changing times. African literature has not been spared by the universalized world order. The paper attempts a re-analysis of gender inequality from the pre-colonial to post-colonial period from the lenses of literary narratives. Male writers like Chinua Achebe, Elechi Amadi, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, and Cyprain Ekwensi in their literary mass are accused of condoning patriarchy, are deeply entrenched in a macho conviviality and a one dimensional and minimalised presentation of women who are demoted and assume peripheral roles. Their penchant to portray an androcentric narrative is at variance with the female gender that are trivialized through practices like patriarchy, tradition, culture, gender socialization process, marriage and domestic enslavement. The paper concludes with some contemporary showcases and metanarratives by both male and female writers like Buchi Emecheta, Mariama Bâ, Ama Ata Aidoo, Flora Nwapa, Sembene Ousmane and Leopold Sedar Senghor who attempt to bridge the gender rifts in the African literary landscape.