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Gender Oppression and Possibilities of Empowerment

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Gender Oppression and Possibilities of Empowerment View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) GENDER OPPRESSION AND POSSIBILITIES OF EMPOWERMENT: IMAGES OF WOMEN IN AFRICAN LITERATURE WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO MARIAMA BÂ’S SO LONG A LETTER, BUCHI EMECHETA’S THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD AND TSITSI DANGAREMBGA’S NERVOUS CONDITIONS. By MAZVITA MOLLIN NYANHONGO (200908403) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Masters in Arts in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the University of Fort Hare SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR FELICITY WOOD DECEMBER 2011 DECLARATION I, Mazvita Mollin Nyanhongo, do hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is entirely mine with the exception of such quotations or references which have been attributed to their authors or sources. ------------------------------------- M.M. Nyanhongo ii DEDICATION To my wonderful daughter, Haidee Nomufaro Thondhlana- you need to be wary of all the subtle forms of oppression, so that you attain that which is fulfilling to you. To my other daughters -Karen Tapfira, Casey Tapfira, Tafadzwa Sachikonye, Lisa Nyanhongo, Thelma, Nokutenda and Tapiwa Nyanhongo. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................... 19 Polygamy .......................................................................................................................................... 26 Commodification of women ............................................................................................................. 37 Women as oppressors ....................................................................................................................... 42 Docility ............................................................................................................................................. 45 Possibilities of Empowerment .......................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................................. 59 Male Dominance ............................................................................................................................... 67 The Devaluation of the girl child ...................................................................................................... 74 The Sorrows of Motherhood ............................................................................................................. 77 Women as breadwinners ................................................................................................................... 86 Possibilities for Empowerment ......................................................................................................... 92 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................................ 100 Daughters: Trash or Treasure .......................................................................................................... 110 Triple Oppression: The Colonial Factor ......................................................................................... 115 Patriarchy and women ..................................................................................................................... 126 Self and Security ............................................................................................................................. 132 Beating the Nervous Conditions: Possibilities of Empowerment ................................................... 138 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 150 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................... 161 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Felicity Wood. Without her professional guidance I would not have made it so far. Her academic guidance was undiluted and she displayed a passion and unwavering support that kept me going all the time. She never tired in encouraging me to attempt new challenges. Apart from her academic guidance she always availed herself for emotional support and always encouraged me to be a strong African woman. She always had the time to listen and offer a tissue to wipe a tear or a flood of them. She made it relatively easy; her smiles and jokes lightening the way. I also want to thank the National Research Funding (NRF) and the Govan Mbeki Research and Development Centre for the financial assistance that made it possible for me to undertake my research. I am indebted to my departmental colleagues for their support, encouragements and friendships. Therefore, I would like to say thank you to Liqhwa Siziba, Rodwell Makombe, Thulani Mndebele, Nancy Morkel and Marjorie Andzongo. Another thank you goes to my lovely friends Brenda Ndinde and Gamuchirai Mukwe. To my daughter, Haidee Nomufaro Thondhlana, I say thank you for always being there for me every step of the way and encouraging me, not in so many words, to be strong. You made it a fun, challenging, tearful and joyous journey for me. I thank my mother, Winnie Chakanyuka for encouraging me and my lovely sister Juliana Tapfira, for being the person she is, strong, loving and forceful. I praise and thank the Almighty for favouring me with the gift of life and blessing me with the above mentioned people who made the journey worthwhile. v ABSTRACT This study consists of a comparative analysis of three novels by three prominent African women writers which cast light on the ways in which women are oppressed by traditional and cultural norms in three different African countries. These three primary texts also explore the ways in which African women‟s lives are affected by other issues, such as colonialism and economic factors, and this study discusses this. An analysis of these novels reveals that the interconnectedness of racial, class and gender issues exacerbates the oppression of many African women, thereby lessening the opportunities for them to attain self-realization. This study goes on to investigate whether there are possibilities of empowerment for the women in the primary texts, and examining the reasons why some women fail to transcend their situations of oppression. The primary novels will be discussed in different chapters, which explore the problems with which various women are beset, and discuss the extent to which the various women in the novels manage to attain empowerment. In conclusion, this study compares and contrasts the ways in which the women in the primary texts are oppressed and highlights the reasons why some women are able to attain empowerment, whilst others are unable to do so. It also shows that many women are beset with comparable forms of oppression, but they may choose to react to these situations differently. Over and above these issues, the study seeks to draw attention to the fact that women need to come together and contribute to the ways in which they can attain various forms ofnempowerment. vi INTRODUCTION This business of womanhood is a heavy burden,‟ she said. „How could it not be? Aren‟t we the ones who bear children? When it is like that you can‟t just decide today I want to do this, tomorrow I want to do that, the next day I want to be educated! When there are sacrifices to be made you are the one who has to make them. And these things are not easy; you have to start learning them early, from a very early age. The earlier the better so that it is easy later on. Easy! As if it is ever easy. And these days it is worse, with the poverty of blackness on one side and the weight of womanhood on the other. Aiwa! What will help you, my child, is to learn to carry your burdens with strength” (Dangarembga, 1988: 16). The above quotation from Tsitsi Dangarembga‟s Nervous Conditions, depicts some of the ways in which traditional assumptions regarding of the role of women in Zimbabwean societies can serve to confine and oppress women, limiting their options in life. Moreover, as is evident in the above-cited extract, a great many African women suffer the triple burden of race, class and gender oppression. These forms of subjugation can relate to one another in different ways. For instance, some women may be oppressed on the grounds of their gender and race; and others as a result of their gender and class. Meanwhile, for some women such as Mainini, the speaker in this passage, gender, racial and class oppression go hand-in-hand. As her words suggest, these forms of suffering are significantly generated and sustained by oppressive aspects of traditional norms and practices. Consequently, many African women have to „learn to carry [their] burdens with strength‟ in order not to succumb to the pressures of African societies. As the passage suggests, a considerable
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