MANIFESTATION OF THE PROTEST AGAINST GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOME SELECTED NOTABLE FEMALE AUTHORS
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MANIFESTATION OF THE PROTEST AGAINST GENDER
INEQUALITY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOME SELECTED NOTABLE FEMALE AUTHORS
ABSTRACT
This
study is concerned with the manifestation of the protest against gender
inequality in the perspective of some selected African authors feminist texts.
The research investigates the study through the analysis of the selected text.
Some research questions were formulated after careful observation of the
problem stated ion chapter one, specifically, the study seeking to effectively
determine those factors that could greatly enhance gender equality in our
society. In the final chapter, the researcher did a useful summary and made
suggestions for further research and recommendation as to how to sustain the
solution of the identified gender inequality problem.
CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Manifestation of the protest against gender
inequality examines feminism revolt as a legitimate instrument against gender
inequality as it affects women using the following texts and authors as case
study. The Wives Revolt, J. P. Clark, So long a letter, Mariama Ba, Second
class citizen, Buchi Emecheta, The women of Orena are wiser than the gods,
Osadebamwen Oamen and The Dragon Funeral,. Emeka Nwabueze.
The word feminism according to oxford advanced
learners dictionary is defined as movement for recognition of claims of women
for rights (legal, political, etc) equal to those possessed by men. The concept
of feminism is Euro-American. It was established in Africa through the educated
African women who felt marginalized within the African cultural society and
context as well as having the notion that, in the cultural African society,
women like children are seen but not heard and as such has to change their
status quo. Aihevba (2006) in his work literacy criticism: A practical
approach writes that; “feminism is a revolutionary movements that is
focused on specifically the female subject of representing and challenging the
mentality that women are subordinate to men. It is a fight against cultural
representation of women as domestic and sexual object only good for nothing
else”.
The Cambridge Encyclopaedia defines feminism as “a
socio-political movement whose objective is equality of right, status and power
for men and women” (62). Judith Burdick (2007) in women in transition says
“feminism” is an explicitly reduction of the life style created by strong
coercive norms that define what women are and can do. She further states that
feminism is a psychological revolution based on women’s insistence that they
have the basic right to make choice and be judged as individuals.
In conclusion feminism to the researchers
understanding is ideologically designed to liberate and emancipate women
worldwide from oppression, ignorance and poverty, and that freedom for women is
also liberation for me. This means it is meant to correct the impression that women
are culturally inferior, whose identity was to be found in the desire to
please, serve others and seek definition through being secondary to men, racial
minorities, sexual deviants (sexual objects) or even the masses only good for
domestic chores and also seen as baby making machine. Being object of male
violence, religious fundamentalism and pornography which presented them as
literally in bondage to men.
Historically, feminism as a movement has its root
or origin in enlightenment campaign against slavery, sexual assault, prejudice
and other forms of cultural and literacy oppression suffered by women world
over. For instance, in the United States of America, feminist movement was born
out of anti-slavery campaign which was subsequently championed by Rosa Park who
was against supremacy in America. In the same vein, women in North and South of
Europe as a result of prejudice, and privileges denied them also rose to the
occasion of feminism. While for the African, it was the educated black women
who imported the Euro-American concept of feminism to challenge the institution
of slavery and resist white men’s sexual assault. In the view of the above,
early feminist who managed to rise above sexual prejudice, their interest was
to reconstitute literature in order to do justice to female point of view,
concern and value and to identify recurrent and distorting “image of women” or
to bring to light and to counter the covert sexual biases written into a
literary work.
Consequences, a good literature to them (early
feminists) was therefore, a work that is produced to project the freedom and
dignity of womanhood and reawakening of feminist consciousness, by appealing to
the idea that liberation for women is liberation for men. From the above
definitions vis-Ã -vis conception and the brief history of feminism, it becomes
believes that feminism could be socialist, cultural and radical. This essay by
the researcher looked at these classification one after the other along line
this classification.
a. Socialist feminism: Socialist feminism links
women’s oppression to the class structure sexism which according to the oxford
advanced learners dictionary is “unfair treatment of people especially women,
because of their sex, or the attitude that causes this”, gives men utter
control over women. Women are oppressed by the men around them, but both men
and women are ultimately oppressed by the class system. This socialist feminism
believes that men and women are not significantly different.
b. Cultural Feminism: Traditionally, men are elevated
as the perfect performer in any normative action. They are often lionized and
celebrated as the pattern for group identification while women are only but
seen as the weaker sex. The concept of cultural feminism is concerned with the
theory that there is fundamental difference between men and women and that
women’s differences are special and should be celebrated. Women are generally
believed to be kinder and gentler than men. The view of cultural feminism is
geared towards the celebration of women’s special qualities, their ways and
experiences.
c. Radical Feminism: This concept of feminism often
opts for a life of separate existence from the opposite sex. It questions why
women must adopt certain roles based on their biology. Radical feminist critics
charge that the men create the world from their own point of views which then
becomes the truth to be described. Radical feminist’s criticism advocates a
revolutionary model of social change.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Culturally, the image of womanhood is represented
by particularly as a symbol of erotic desire positioned by race, class and
gender as a subservient group of people lower and inferior to the male folks.
Again, under partilineage which mark most African society, the image of the
women was portrayed as those who are culturally inferior, whose identity is to
be found in the desire to please and serve men and seek definition by being
secondary to men.
Haven x-rayed the circumstance women have
found themselves, their pitiable condition evade position, it calls for radical
and correct representation of the image of womanhood through literature, by a
means of rebuilding the image of women generally. The statement of this
research work problem therefore, is that of finding out and describing how
womanhood has fared culturally and how feminism as a literary concept and
movement in African literature has helped to reconstruct or reposition the
image of womanhood in Africa through a selection of some notable authors produced
works in their contribution towards redeeming the image of women.
1.3
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The main
purpose of this study is to show the selected authors portrayal of the
respective identification of the role culture and feminism play in repositioning
of women in the society. Also the study purposes to taking an overview of the
African woman in relation to the concept and movement of feminism, in the
themes of these text which depicts the present position of the African woman.
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study
when successfully completed will serve as a document that portrays how
literature:
i.
Challenges, debunk and confront the rude negative
conception of the female.
ii.
Represent the image of the woman correctly in the
feministic sense.
iii.
Reveal the reason why people must see women as
agent in the society whose feelings should be respected.
iv.
Depict how the image of womanhood was portrayed in
Africa cultural perspective before and after the advent of feminism in African
literature.
v.
To salute my fellow true African feminist for t
heir courage and dignity.
1.5
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The
following research questions are to guide the direction of the study.
i.
What makes females suffers of gender inequality?
ii.
What is t he role of African societal culture in
gender inequality perpetration?
iii.
How does feminism stand as a tool of salvaging the female
ego?
iv.
What contributions have some selected authors made
in the manifestation of protest against gender inequality?
v.
What does the African women think about this
protest?
vi.
What are the contributions of some Nigerian radical
feminists in solving this problem?
1.6
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This
related investigative literature is focused against gender inequality and its
manifestation so far in the scenario of protest. Consequently, the above
subject matter has been designed to cover five selected literature texts viz;
the Wives Revolt, So Long a Letter, Second Class Citizen; The Women of Orena
are wiser than the gods, The Dragon’s Funeral.
1.7
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Patriarchy: A societal system of a country or state that is
ruled or controlled by men.
Patronage: Word used to describe the relationship between
father and child that continues in a family of each generation.
Cultural: Connected with culture which means the customs
and beliefs, arts, way of life and social organization of a particular group of
people.
Feminism: A claim by women for right equal with men.
Feminist: Someone that is in support of feminism.
Revolt: To resist a particular authority.
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