INTRODUCTION

African men started writing novels ahead of the female writers, the male writers believe that women are instruments of are instruments of pleasure to be used by men at their will, and slaves to men having a major role of giving birth to children, bringing them up and make sure that food is ready for their husband at his own time.        

This misconception about the role of women in African society started as a result of long age traditions from their forefathers, and this went on and on until African female writers began to emerge and took the bull by the horn, by writhing to rebuild the image of African women which has long been portrayed negatively by African male writers.

On this premise, this project titled :The role of African female writers “attempts to study what these roles of African female writers are in the African society using “Zaynab Alkali’s still born and virtuous woman as a case study.

This project therefore will point out the roles of female writers in African as the view of the African male writers, which in most cases are negative. Italso points out their visions and what they think women should do to wipe out this age long beliefs that women are slaves to men.

Female writers have started to emerge powerfully and more visibly because they use creative writing to launched themselves on the Continental global scenes. Their literary works tend to deliberately explore the traditions, prejudice as well as the contradictions which are prevalent in the contemporary African society and how these affect the status of women in the society.

In African the oppression of women has progressed along the pattern of different historical experience the issue of exploitation of the women attracted to the attention of so many female writers such as Flora Nwap, Buchi Emechta, Zaynab Alkalis Molara Ogudipo, Leslie etc.

In Nigerian women are treated as second class citizens just like any women, in the world was exclusively offered to males and when education did become available to both sexes, the male and female ratio regarding students enrolment clearly demonstrated women’s continued restriction from formal education. Amadum document ,this gender based access with statistic regarding Nigeria’s province school in 1960 the ratio of boys to girls in the nation’s Eastern province school are greater than and an astounding in the schools that are located in Nigeria Central province despite the assumed outnumbering of men by women in term of population probably due to the social structure of the society in which men are more exposed to death considering their participation in political economic, and social affairs, the women still constitute the monitory while the society is controlled by them.

This project is therefore an attempt to bring focus into the commendable efforts of some Nigerian female writers who use their reactive writing  to agitate for a change in the adverse cultural forces that military against any improvement in the social status of women in the society.

Female writers in north Nigeria also lead to concern itself with theme that are similar to those from southern Nigeria, the essence of women in society Zaynab Alkali comes from the northern part of Nigeria a place referred to as educationally back word she analyses the impacts of western education on her female characters in her works, she acknowledges that, knowledge is the key to all the good things of life. She also  highlight how culture has not helped matters, in some cultures, allowing a girl to acquired education is a taboo and on some occasions such girls and their parents are ridiculed. A girl is supposed to marry early at the age of thirteen or fourteen Evan when these early marriage do not work, sorrow and self pitying should not be able to find her footing, if women molestation and suffering must stop, the parents must invest in the girl child education.

Religion also has played it’s own role, women in Muslim society, women are to be indoors because the societies believe, they should completely be dependent on their husbands. (The holy book Qur’an ‘surah Bakarah) they are deprived of exposure which evidently affects their ability to participate in revolutionary trends.

The whole concept of feminism in northern Nigeria therefore is armed at breaking the conspiracy of silence about the oppression and unequal man, women relationship and to create social awakening for all women to be free from domination by men, a change of attitude in society must take place.

ZaynabAlkalion a general note sees women as metaphors for comfort, understanding ,love and warmth. Her criticism have demystified the nation of the so-called natural inferiority of women the myth of their physical weakness, lack of mental alertness, natural incapacity for any role other then motherhood have to be the result of historical and social conditioning and therefore subject to Change.

Alkali’s to a great extent is an advocate of womanish, who portrays female characters with pride and dignity.

The journey toward a kind of liberation of self limitation is the essence of The stillborn the novel convert truthfully the quality of life not just in Northern Nigeria, must of Africa societies, the predicament of women focused on with education, the women would assume better status in northern society for the development of the country. Women should be part and parcel of societal and family decisions.

CONCLUSION

This study is the situation before the female writers began to writer, males writers, In the writing women characters were ascribed traditional role example the role and particular novels .

This was the situation until female writers began to emerge, and their writing had different focuses that change the earlier perception given by men.

You either get what you want or your money back. T&C Apply

Talk to us right now: (+234)906-451-7926 (Call/WhatsApp)

---