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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