Finding the Oppressed Voice in the African Female

Finding the Oppressed Voice in the African Female Text

Amidst the sound and the fury of their lives that are controlled by colonialists and the men, African women's voices have been stifled. However, the voices of the African women rebelling against the cultural expectations of them to be silent and submissive can be discerned within the texts of Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, Bessie Head's Maru, Sindiwe Magona's Mother to Mother, Ama Ata Aidoo's Changes: A Love Story, Calixthe Beyala's The Sun Hath Looked Upon Me, Assia Djebar's A Sister to Scheherazade, Nawal El Saadawi's God Dies by the Nile and Emecheta Buchi's The Joys of Motherhood.

Unmediated by the bias of male authors, these writers illuminate the oppressive relationship between man and wife in many African households. Through their eyes, readers from the Western world can begin to understand the vast cultural differences that separate Western women from African women. Therefore, in their attempt to forge an united stance against female oppression, it is essential that Western feminists acknowledge these fundamental differences.

In order for African women to rise above their oppressed status, they need to tap into the powerful and unique female energy that radiates from their unique voices that deviate from the ethnocentric perspective of white women. Throughout these texts, the heroines are perpetually carving a space for themselves so that they can speak without interruption, with the fear of break

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ablish their independence away from men by pursuing their own careers. In the old days, the occupation of trading allowed women to leave the isolation of their homes to mingle with the outside world at the marketplace, interact with other women and earn needed income. Female camaraderie is integral to building female unity and consciousness (Ogunyemi 54-5). The powerful description of Hajila in her first scene described earlier in the section testifies to the importance of women to escape from their homes. In these modern days, education has become increasingly accessible to women (Ogunyemi 59). They have risen through the ranks to participate in making corporate deals and work in other occupations that were once the sole domain of men (Ogunyemi 55). Esi, the main female protagonist in Aidoo's Changes, represents the new African woman who has a thriving career. Unlike many of the other female characters in this selection of books, Esi's main focus is not on giving birth to babies, but on her work. In fact, it is her interest in her work that sets her up in opposition to her parents and her first husband, Oko, and his parents who continue to adhere to the traditional way of life. Furthermore, in her economic and emotional indepe

Category: Psychology - F