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Gender Issues In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus And Nawal El Saadavis Woman At Point Zero
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Not surprisingly, African scholars have now begun to include the
concepts of gender, gender and violence in their gender studies to
understand their role in gender relations (Lindsay & Miescher 2003:
1- 3). Therefore, in analyzes of the work of women writers, among other
topics, it is necessary to explore gender-based violence and its
portrayal in this work. This is because gender-based violence is a
serious problem in many societies today and constitutes a new area of
investigation for literary criticism. This study therefore questions the
description of gender-based violence in the Nigerian novel in reference
to the fiction of women in general and Adichie’s novels in particular
and the role of gender in the spread of violence. The study explores how
a person’s gender contributes to gender violence in selected novels.
Gender
issues in each discourse are often divisive because of its sensitive
nature and the fact that the term gender is often used interchangeably
with sex. There is a clear dichotomy between the two terms and
specialists have since established the difference between them. While
the term sex is the biological characteristic that defines human beings
as a woman or a man, gender is the economic, political and cultural
attributes and opportunities associated with being a man or a woman
(USAID, 2007). Gender is therefore made up of socially constructed
roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society
considers appropriate for men and women. While gender and its associated
biological functions are genetically programmed, the gender roles and
power relations they reflect are social constructs, they vary from one
culture to another and over time, and so are open to change. While sex
refers to the anatomical difference between man and woman, gender refers
to the social aspect of differences and hierarchies between men and
women‖ (John Macionis & Ken Plummer, 2005: 309). ).
A UK Council
report titled “Sex in Nigeria in 2012†concludes that violence against
women is not a new problem in Nigeria. On the contrary, it is deeply
rooted in many cultural and traditional values that are considered
normal behavior or remain hidden or tacitly tolerated (Nnadi, 2012,
Zimmerman, 1997). As a result, violence against women is perceived as
the most widespread violation of human rights (UN Secretary General,
2009, Heise et al., 2002). In 1998, the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) raised concerns about the
prevalence of violence against women and girls, including domestic
violence and sexual harassment at the scene working. It is also
important to point out that gender-based violence is practiced against
everyone, but that it mainly affects women and girls (Jekayinfa, 2011,
USAID, 2008).
1.2 Statement of the problem
The most dangerous
is the inability of many Africans to separate African culture from the
systems that oppress the freedoms of African women. It is this inability
to see a future where African culture is not tinged with patriarchal
shades that poses the greatest threat to the movement of black
consciousness. Then, Orabueze (114) argued that it was necessary to
dismantle what it means to be African and to look more closely at the
customs that are only dishes and what defines our culture. My hope is to
understand patriarchy, African culture and the need to separate the
two. However, according to Opara, Chioma (2008), patriarchy is a social
formation in which the male sex plays a dominant role in the collective
social life.
Vasilyeva Ayala argues that “women as a group are
supposed to share a characteristic trait, experience, condition or
common criterion that defines their gender and the possession of certain
persons as women (as opposed to men, for example)â€. Ayala added that
all women are considered different from all men in this regard (or
respects). For example, MacKinnon thought that being treated in a
sexually objectifying way is the common condition that defines the
gender of women and what women and women share. All women differ from
all men in this regard. In addition, highlighting females that are not
sexually objectified does not provide a counterexample to the sight of
MacKinnon. To be objectified sexually is constitutive of being a woman; a
woman who escapes sexual objectification, then, would not count as a
woman. (732).
1.3 Aim and objectives of study
The aim of this
study is to describe the existence of gender issues in the Nigerian
novel and its depiction in Nawal el Saadawi’s woman at point zero and
Chimamanda Adichie‘s purple hibiscus. This research is premised on the
fact that literature is a chronicler of society through which societal
issues are analysed with a view to making the society better.
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