Gender Imbalance And Discriminations In Mariama Ba’s So Long A Letter And Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Feminism is a branch of social theory which symbolizes the struggle for the participation of women in social and political formulation specifically, both at domestic and social levels of life; women are relegated to the background and subordinates to their male counterparts. In African society, feminism has been deployed through a hostile barrier as the African culture itself regards it with so much disdain due to the African belief that female emancipation and empowerment would ditch the essence of manhood as well as the roles of women in their matrimonial homes. One way to begin to counter male perception of feminist struggle is evaluating writings of females from the women perspective. Mariama Ba and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels are selected because they present the subject of feminist realism from the perspective of the female and support the premise that women’s condition are better treated by women. Femi in his article “Female Writers, Male Critics” asserts that “the personality of African women have been hidden under such a heap of myths…rapid generalization and patent untruths that it might be interesting to study what they have to say for themselves when they decide to speak”(89). In other words, it is only the female writers who can best express the views of women towards male chauvinism.

Orie traced the predicament of women to patriarchy. She asserts that “the effect of patriarchal lordship is silencing the woman, muffling, or muting her voice or browbeating her to remain voiceless” (16). This ‘traumatically sorry condition’ of women is a ‘capital issue’ which needs to be discussed. In many African countries there have been changes in the traditional roles of women. The rightful place of women in the society has for long been a subject of discussion. The implication of this is that more feminist writers such as Ngozi Adichie, Tess Onwueme, Sefi Atta Lola Soneyin and a host of others have emerged. They have struggled extensively with patriarchy under the umbrella of a movement called ‘Feminism’. This movement is aimed at “enhancing women’s self esteem and helping them to find their voice in a male-dominated social order”. Orie (162) further opines that;

“The struggle of this movement is not really aimed at fighting the men folk; it is an agitation, but with a revolutionary poise. It is a movement that not only protests that the female sex is cruelly oppressed by her opposite but also advertises the female being as good enough for confronting any challenges, winning them over, thereby deserving proper space, recognition, esteem, honour in the society.”

The study of feminism has gone through different phase’s overtime. As time progresses, the theory of feminism took its own shape and this theory in this modern era is called the Modern Feminism. It is inevitably related to sociology, economy, politics, and women studies. Before the emergence of Feminism, there was no word or theory for protection against battered women, domestic violence, legal argument or self defence for women.

This unjust position of women in Africa contributed immensely to the late involvement of female writers. Before the arrival of these female writers, their male counterparts such as Wole Soyinka (The Lion and The Jewel), Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart), Meja Nwangi (Going Down the River) have been portraying them as housewives, mothers, whores, and dependent characters with their succour being men but when female writers such as Flora Nwapa, Chimamanda Adichie, Buchi Emecheta, Tsitsi Dangarembga emerged, things began to change (not all female writers are feminists). However, some male writers also think there should be gender equality. Vladimir Lemin(77) sees women from a different point of view; he says “we cannot go forward without women”. He emphasizes more on women being the backbone for any man’s success thus proving right the common saying “Behind every successful man, there is a woman”. Also Semebene Ousmane posits that society should abandon the way African forefathers subjected women to, but to realise the strength of women. In his novel Gods Bits of Wood, women attain the role of providing for their household during the strike. Moreover in the holy books (Quran and Bible), it is stated that Eve or Hauwa was created shortly after the creation of Adam in heaven but man has dominated all activities in the world and would not allow for equality with women. For this reason, the women are far behind the men folks in all areas of life, the political, economical, occupational, and educational aspect of life inclusive. The concept of feminism therefore is meant to restructure the issue of the male dominance over the female in all branches and spheres of life. As a result of male chauvinism, women has always been regarded as second class citizens to men, they are not even recognised in some cases. In Islam and Christianity, women are admonished to submit to their husbands; doing only that which their husbands wants or approves irrespective of how they feel.

Feminism is therefore referred to as the belief that women should have economic, political, occupational, and social equality with men. This research will focus on the effort of women writers to make this movement a reality in Africa. Women need to rise to stop what they do not want, and in particular to oppose and stop whatever seeks to deny them or deprive them of the equal rights with their male counterpart. This is the reason why Mariama Ba brings the sufferings and pain of women especially in the African society to limelight in her fiction which is use as a case study in this research work.

The aim of this research is to examine gender imbalance and discriminations as in socio-cultural and literary discourse using the examples of Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s purple Hibiscus. The study observes the socio organization and stratification from the novel with reference to the male and female gender pay more emphasis on the female and her role, stand, image and place within the society and her community. The study further explores the status of a woman in Africa in general in particular her right as a mother, female child and wife. The issues of conflict and crisis of identity as reflected in the selected novel will also be discus. Soyinka in You Must Set Forth at Dawn (120) asserts that “when a people have been subjected to a degree of inhuman violation for which there is no other word but genocide, they have a right to seek an identity apart from their aggressor”. This text is a good exemplary analytical sample of the challenges which women face in their various environment and the mechanics and tactics they use as females to de-subjugate themselves from the chauvinistic tendencies of their male counterparts. Marilyn French (422) states that “women are human beings, the two sexes are (at least) equal in all significant ways, and that this equality must be publicly recognized”. This is because gender is not sex; Sex is biologically designed for the continuous existence of specie; a creature which has nothing to do with one of the genders being superior to the other and the other being subordinate. Both sexes are simply interdependent, it solicits for societal and individual independence. Hence, this work proceeds to reveal the treatment of the female in the African domain and their subsequent and recent rejection of these maltreatments.

Though it is believed that women are now given a fair hearing in the society and are being advocated for, feminism is yet to be embraced as an aid towards the female struggle for recognition. As a result of this, this work is justifiably a literary supplement to the existing stock of research in the field of feminist and gender aesthetics. It will add to scholarly work on literature, and women feminist writings. The necessity for better gender relationship cannot be ignored for it is a crucial factor for human and national development and a social growth imperative. Its justification also rests partly on the fact that the research will addresses domestic problems, violence, and female subjugation within households, at the social-cultural and political setting. However, within the African home, African religious and cultural dictates as exemplified by the authors of the selected novls are not in favour of the females. They relegate the females to the background as subordinates and second class citizens whilst they give male the upper hand. The difference between this research work and others is that it focuses on the story of gender told by the younger generations of female writers who were children as at the time of the happenings recounted in their works. The story is told passionately and with such precision that gives the African women hope of liberating themselves from their domineering male counterpart. Hence, a critical study will be carried out on the afore mentioned texts bringing out the tenets and features as observed in the texts so as to empower women in their struggle for liberation and participation in all spheres of activities.

This research work will emphasise on the issue of domestic violence, socio-cultural, religious and personal conflict, and the feminist aesthetics, exploring the Senegal and Nigeria settings. It will also include the identification and treatment of identified artistic visions and literary techniques employed by the authors. This research work identifies the burden of the African woman and what the tradition expects of her as regards submission, procreation and widowhood. The analysis done here extends to the use of language by the author, the language use has enabled us to picturise every incident and actually capture the traumatic moments of the female characters. The scope is limited only to Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus for the fact that they have been confirmed as good representations and examples of literary texts exposing the Dos and Don’ts of the female in the African world. Due to the limited time and space constraints, only analysis of the text, scholarly ideas and limited criticism on the author will be used.

The thesis intends to carry out an analysis of the feminist issues in Purple Hibiscus by Ngozi Adichie and Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter theory. In analysing the selected novels feminist theory will be employed to discuss gender issues identified in the texts. Feminism is a theory that interrogates patriarchy and observes it as an oppressive system at the domestic and social backgrounds. Achufesi (69) says: “Feminism offers not only the possibility of changing the world itself, but justifies the gender phenomenon as an intellectual discourse and a primary way of signifying relationships of power”.

Furthermore, Nnaemeka (94) establishes that the functional purpose of feminism as its ability “to provide the opportunity for re-evaluating attitudes and misconceptions about women by African culture and assimilated traditions of European colonial masters”. Kolawole (19) advocates that “womanism in particular, which is a facet of the feminist theory, is to address the different needs of women and also prepare them for the challenges ahead”. This research considers the various facets and ideologies of feminism in its outlook at the feminist perspective at the domestic and socio-cultural levels. The radical feminism according to Simpson (166) sees “man’s oppression of women as a central historical event” which belonged to the past and ought not to be. She therefore calls for the reversal of events and a radical change to better the situation of women in ‘texts’ and ‘contexts’. This research appraises feminism from the radical feminist approach. The finding at the end of the research work reflects the position of feminism today with particular reference to the African context.