Download AFRICAN FEMINISTS` AGENDA AND SEX MODIFICATION

AFRICAN FEMINISTS’ AGENDA AND SEX MODIFICATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR
GENDER ROLE DEFINITION IN SELECT MODERN AFRICAN PLAYS
A PhD RESEARCH PROPOSAL BY KESTER NNAEMEKA DIBIA
Background of the study:
Gender in Africa is generally viewed from the two perspectives of male and female. The world
has, however, gone beyond this traditional gender definition for it has come to be known and
accepted that gender is no longer determined biologically on the physical sexual characteristics
of a man or woman. It is rather socially constructed to shape how societies, especially in Africa,
are organized in a manner that ensures that women are relegated to the background. Furthermore,
experiments on gender modifications and researches on gender definitions have yielded results in
transgender studies; producing as the case may be: asexual, bisexual and homosexual who are
neither males nor females. According to Nwosu: “… Africa is still struggling to deconstruct her
negative taboos and cultural practices especially those targeted at women and children. It is a
truism that pros and cons surrounding the deconstruction of those taboos generate gender issues
that either reinforce or debunk the stereotype identity of women or the chauvinistic personality of
men. Thus, there is no gainsaying that the major hurdle facing African feminist agenda is how to
refigure these taboos put in place by men…” (5) Feminism on the other hand, being a 20th
Century literary movement, examines the place of women in art and life. It is concerned with
female opposition to patriarchy as espoused or promoted by our culture. Ezenwanebe states that
the feminist perspective in African drama “challenges dominant concepts about women and
exposes the various ways in which they are oppressed, suppressed and marginalized…”
Feminism seeks to promote equality between men and women with regards to social, economic
and political considerations and opportunities. Its emergency as a literary movement in the 20 th
Century can be traced to the age-long belief that women were considered unequal or inferior to
men. It therefore insists that this gender imbalance must be redressed.
The subjugation and unfair treatment of women in African societies are characterized by the
exclusion of women from education, ownership of property, economic independence and
political participation. One of the instruments of oppression and suppression that the society
employs to ensure the continued domination of women by men, especially in Africa, is language.
Ezenwanebe quoting Spender, contends in his book entitled Man-Made Language, that
linguistically, “… women were made not to be seen or heard and hence, completely silenced…”
Spender’s confident assertion may have been given a boost by Aristotle’s earlier opinion in his
Poetics that “women were inferior to men and should therefore be seen, not heard. “Even in
religious circles, the situation is not different as women have always been made to occupy the
back seat. From the teachings of the Holy Bible, Africans learnt that men were “the original
creations of God and that women came later” out of their ribs. Therefore, the problem of this
study stems from the confusion created by this sudden proliferation of gender and the hurdle it
places on the track of African feminists in their race towards the realization of African feminist
agenda.
It is therefore appropriate for African Feminist dramatists to reappraise this trend in
their efforts to carry out sex role differentiations in contemporary feminist plays. Hence, these
nagging issues cast a doubt on the thrust of feminist movements that champion achieving equal
status for both men and women in the society.
This is seen in early Feminist movements attributed to the renowned French philosopher Antoine
Nicola Condorcet who originated an essay on the admission of women to full French citizenship
in 1790. Another advocate for women emancipation is the British scholar, Mary Wollstonecraft.
She argued against educational restrictions imposed on women. In her publication entitled The
Vindication of the Rights of Women, published in 1792, she argued that these restrictions kept
women in a state of “ignorance and slavish dependence.” Women activists in the United States of
America like Mercy Otis Warren, Abigail Adams and Emma Willard also campaigned
vigorously for the rights of women. The first Feminist Convention led by Elizabeth Candy
Stanton and Lucretia Mott which took place in Seneca Falls in New York in 1848 led to the
enactment of Married Women’s Property Act which was passed into law the same year in New
York. This property law gave women independent legal identity.
Some notable playwrights in Africa, especially in West Africa, like J.P. Clark, Femi Osofisan,
Ola Rotimi, Tracie Utoh-Ezeajugh, Irene Salami, Mabel Evwierhoma and Tess Onwueme,
among others, have done their bits and given tremendous support to the Feminist Movement
through their various works.
The possible outcomes or consequences of the efforts of contemporary African dramatists to
advance the feminist agenda through their plays are their ability to identify and attempts to
address some of the various practices employed by the “male-dominated” African societies to
ensure that the womenfolk continue to live in cultural or traditional chains. Anigala contends that
women’s right to aspire to leadership positions should be upheld by well-meaning members of
the society for several reasons, including that “women are perceived to be less corrupt than men
and this will likely result in good governance”. Anigala blames the economic and socio-political
woes plaguing African nations on “… The fraudulent practices of male politicians whose
political drive is personal economic empowerment…” The position of Anigala on women
empowerment is reinforced when Salami states that “… in the past, many women in history
accomplished great things, … stood up against oppression, injustice and contributed much to the
society”. In Nneora , Utoh-Ezeajugh urges women “not to forget their feminine virtues and see
themselves as mothers of the world.” However, the battle line has been redrawn and the combat
has gone beyond male and female gender. Hence, the African feminist must re-strategize in order
to fit into new global fronts, otherwise they will be left behind by time.
Aims and Objectives of the Study:
The aims and objectives of this study are to examine critically how Feminism as a literary
movement has been used by African playwrights as a veritable instrument to advance gender
discourse, and the feminist agenda in Africa. Therefore the study aims at drawing the attention of
African feminists to the global paradigm shift in gender studies. The goal is to make African
feminists look beyond the traditional gender definition and see how it can widen their research
on sex modification and definition of gender roles. This study will also contribute to the field of
knowledge by revealing the noble intentions of feminists who may have been derogatorily
branded and called names simply because in their activism they feel duty-bound to point the way
to freedom for the women folk from oppression, suppression and marginalization in patriarchal
African societies.
Finally, it is hoped that the findings of this research will later be published as book chapters and
journal articles as a way of contributing to the body of literature available in the area of feminist
theory and criticism.
Research Methodology:
Research methods are broadly divided into three: quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods.
The quantitative research method mainly makes use of questionnaires and experimental
approaches while the qualitative methods make use of case study, content analysis and face-to
face interview approaches. The mixed method is a combination of the quantitative and
qualitative approaches. The nature of the research problem determines the research methods to
be adopted by the researcher. Given the nature of this research problem therefore, this researcher
will adopt the qualitative research method, using the case study and content analysis approaches.
The case study approach helped the researcher select his primary sources of data while content
analysis helped in analyzing the texts that have been chosen for this study. This involves going
through the materials and relating the information gathered from them to the research topic. The
MLA style of referencing will be used to acknowledge all materials used in the study.
Expected Outcome:
The researcher’s findings will reveal that Feminists have made great efforts to expose the
uncanny inclination of African men to continue to dominate women and treat them as inferior
creations of God Almighty. The Feminist playwrights have successfully shown that the call for
equality between men and women and for women empowerment is justified as the male
dominated African nations and societies have failed to experience developments in the right
directions. Preliminary research shows that African feminists are yet to direct attention to new
gender areas that will ensure the transformation of human lives and enhanced physical
developments in every sphere of national life. Hence contemporary feminist fronts that will make
input globally have no doubt, become very desirable.
WORKS CITED
Anigala, A.E. Feminism in Ola Rotimi’s Dramatic Concept. Ola Rotimi’s
Drama and Theater: Issues and Perspectives. Ed. Bakare Ojo Rasaki, Abuja: Roots Books &
Journals Nigeria Limited, 2007: (51-60).
Ezenwanebe, Osita C. The Feminist Ambivalence in African Drama: The case
Empowered Women in Tess Onwueme’s Two Plays, A
Ed. Emmanuel Emasealu, Port
Harcourt,
of
the
Journal of Theater and Media Arts.
Harcourt: Department of Theatre Arts, University of Port
2006: (17-27).
Nwabueze, Emeka. Studies in Dramatic Literature. Enugu: ABIC Books, 2011.
Nwosu, Canice Chukwuma. Between Loyalty and Transgression: Towards A Feminist
Deconstruction of Cultural Taboos Against Young Lovers in
Africa. A Paper Presented at the Gender and Love Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford
University, Oxford, 2013
Salami, Irene Isoken. More than Dancing. Nigeria: Saniez Publications, 2003.
Utoh-Ezeajugh, Tracie Chima. Nneora: An African Doll’s House
Company (Nig) Ltd, 2005.
Awka: Valid Publishing