A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF FEMINISM IN AFRICA
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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF FEMINISM IN AFRICA
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
Meaning and Nature of Feminism
The movement for women’s rights began in the 18th century, with the intensive intellectual activity known as the Age of Enlightenment.
Feminism is defined as an organised movement that supports equality for men and women in all aspects of life, including politics, the economy, and society. Feminists think that women are oppressed only because of their gender, based on patriarchal ideology. Eliminating patriarchy in society will liberate women, men, and minority religions and ethnicities.
Feminism can also be defined as a system that directly or indirectly oppresses women through its social, economic, and political structures. Throughout history, men have held more influence in both the public and private spheres, particularly in African societies.
To maintain this power, men have erected barriers and obstacles for women, making it difficult for them to achieve or maintain power. There is unequal access to authority. Patriarchy encompasses the oppression of ethnic minorities.
Feminism ideology can take various shapes. In the early 1970s, women began formulating a theory that helped to explain their oppression. Pockets of rebellion started to form and challenge patriarchy. By the 1980s, feminists began to dispute on specific feminism-related issues.
What was once a single theory began to branch out into multiple theories addressing various feminist challenges. There are currently as many definitions of feminism as there are feminists. Each definition of feminism is based on a variety of variables, including one’s personal ideas, history, and culture.
In traditional Africa, women are constantly scorned, degraded, and physically tortured. Historically, women did not exist as individuals with personalities to protect. They existed primarily as docile and exotic companions to the males. During that time, women lacked a voice to express their dilemmas and points of view.
As a result, they willingly accepted their fate. Such a submissive attitude stems from society training through problematic cultural practices. From birth, through infancy and adolescence, and into maturity, Africans receive messages and reinforcement from society and others that propel them into roles and behaviours suited for males and females.
Females are frequently assigned lower roles, and years of cultural oppression and intimidation have, unfortunately, led to women underestimating their ability and self-worth. Encased in such cultural mystery, African women were especially motivated by a sense of community, as culture eliminates individualism.
In those days, these women faced the same oppressive social conditions as their male counterparts in a developing society, but they were also subjected to additional repressive loads resulting from patriarchal and gender hierarchical socio-cultural institutions. These years of subjection, however, have resulted in today’s women’s constant questioning of the status quo.
They speak out against dehumanisation, political captivity, and social tyranny. They argue that administering the African continent is not just the responsibility of men, and hence both sexes should be treated equally in all aspects of life. S
uch a reaction is known as feminism, which is an ideology that advocates, in simple terms, the acceptance of women’s claims to equal rights as men.
According to Cora Kaplan (162), literary texts are constructed from ideology, and the reality they articulate is dependent on the historical culture that surrounds them; similarly, literary critical claims about their truthfulness or authenticity are determined by the culture from which they emerge.
Helen Chukwuma (xiv) argues that African feminism is dedicated and informed from inside, based on existing social realities. One such reality is the survival of a sexist socio-psychological paradigm despite efforts to combat “the androcentricism that informs social life.” (Uko, 33)
Despite ongoing sexism in Africa, women continue to aggressively demand equal seats in men’s former citadel of power and privilege. The chorus of African women who say to men: “whatever the case maybe, you will never again hear us pronounce the words of the Virgin Mary, ‘thy will be done’ while smiling at your despotic power” . (Josephine Felicite, Moses, C.G., & Rabine, L. 308-309).
They contend that it is preferable for men to desire from them the noble and kind feelings that must exist between equals rather than the mercenary feelings that a slave feels for his master.
As a result of this quest and argument, a new definition of femininity in the framework of the African cosmic order has emerged: “A human being endowed with all the capabilities and talents required to effectively function and make an impact on all levels of life within society” (Adeife Osemeikhiam, 21).
Despite the foregoing, there is still evidence of gender stereotypes in Africa, which are basically a set of commonly held views or attitudes about what are “appropriate” behaviours and activities for males and what are “appropriate” for females.
As a result, even when men agree with women’s denunciation of their (women’s) societal deprivations, men’s language nonetheless reveals a subtle tendency towards sexist socialisation.
The New Lexicon Webster’s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English Language defines sexism as beliefs and organisations, frequently unconscious, that determine human worth based on gender or sex.
It is defined as prejudice or discrimination directed towards women based on their gender. Sexist socialisation, therefore, refers to the process by which infants and children are raised to adopt attitudes and activities that discriminate against women based on their gender.
This work investigates So Long a Letter in order to emphasise its distinctive language usage as well as the psychological disposition that underpins such language use. Research findings by anthropologists, educationists, and sociolinguistics show that traditionally, males use non-standard language; females use the language of rapport, while males use the language of report;
discursive language style is meant for women, while men are given the language of theories and abstractions; females use polite language meant to maintain harmony and strong relationships as well as to keep conversations open, whereas males use the language of asserti Women utilise the language of solidarity, whilst men use the language of expertise.
Statement of the Problem
Men in Africa teach women that they, the men, are the head of the household, which means they are superior to the women. Women are viewed as weak, and as a result, they have no say in community activities.
They have little rights and are forced to do whatever the males want them to do, particularly in Africa. Women are taught to feel inferior, which leads to negative feelings in women.
The objectives of the study
The purpose of this research is to critically examine feminism in Africa.
Significance of the Study
The study would be extremely important in addressing examples of female marginalisation in African society. The study would also aid students, researchers, and academics interested in conducting additional research on the subject.
Scope of the Study
This study is primarily concerned with the critical critique of feminism in Africa.
Research Question
What impact does the language of feminism have on society?
How might the language of feminism be improved?
Definition of Terms
Feminism is the advocacy for women’s rights based on gender equality.
Language is the process of human communication, whether spoken or written, that involves the use of words in an ordered and customary fashion.
Society is the collection of individuals who live together in a more or less orderly environment.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
Meaning and Nature of Feminism
The movement for women’s rights began in the 18th century, with the intensive intellectual activity known as the Age of Enlightenment.
Feminism is defined as an organised movement that supports equality for men and women in all aspects of life, including politics, the economy, and society. Feminists think that women are oppressed only because of their gender, based on patriarchal ideology. Eliminating patriarchy in society will liberate women, men, and minority religions and ethnicities.
Feminism can also be defined as a system that directly or indirectly oppresses women through its social, economic, and political structures. Throughout history, men have held more influence in both the public and private spheres, particularly in African societies.
To maintain this power, men have erected barriers and obstacles for women, making it difficult for them to achieve or maintain power. There is unequal access to authority. Patriarchy encompasses the oppression of ethnic minorities.
Feminism ideology can take various shapes. In the early 1970s, women began formulating a theory that helped to explain their oppression. Pockets of rebellion started to form and challenge patriarchy.
By the 1980s, feminists began to dispute on specific feminism-related issues. What was once a single theory began to branch out into multiple theories addressing various feminist challenges.
There are currently as many definitions of feminism as there are feminists. Each definition of feminism is based on a variety of variables, including one’s personal ideas, history, and culture.
In traditional Africa, women are constantly scorned, degraded, and physically tortured. Historically, women did not exist as individuals with personalities to protect.
They existed primarily as docile and exotic companions to the males. During that time, women lacked a voice to express their dilemmas and points of view.
As a result, they willingly accepted their fate. Such a submissive attitude stems from society training through problematic cultural practices. From birth, through infancy and adolescence, and into maturity, Africans receive messages and reinforcement from society and others that propel them into roles and behaviours suited for males and females.
Females are frequently assigned lower roles, and years of cultural oppression and intimidation have, unfortunately, led to women underestimating their ability and self-worth. Encased in such cultural mystery, African women were especially motivated by a sense of community, as culture eliminates individualism.
In those days, these women faced the same oppressive social conditions as their male counterparts in a developing society, but they were also subjected to additional repressive loads resulting from patriarchal and gender hierarchical socio-cultural institutions.
These years of subjection, however, have resulted in today’s women’s constant questioning of the status quo. They speak out against dehumanisation, political captivity, and social tyranny.
They argue that administering the African continent is not just the responsibility of men, and hence both sexes should be treated equally in all aspects of life. Such a reaction is known as feminism, which is an ideology that advocates, in simple terms, the acceptance of women’s claims to equal rights as men.
According to Cora Kaplan (162), literary texts are constructed from ideology, and the reality they articulate is dependent on the historical culture that surrounds them; similarly, literary critical claims about their truthfulness or authenticity are determined by the culture from which they emerge.
Helen Chukwuma (xiv) argues that African feminism is dedicated and informed from inside, based on existing social realities. One such reality is the survival of a sexist socio-psychological paradigm despite efforts to combat “the androcentricism that informs social life.” (Uko, 33)
Despite ongoing sexism in Africa, women continue to aggressively demand equal seats in men’s former citadel of power and privilege. The chorus of African women who say to men: “whatever the case maybe, you will never again hear us pronounce the words of the Virgin Mary, ‘thy will be done’ while smiling at your despotic power” . (Josephine Felicite, Moses, C.G., & Rabine, L. 308-309).
They contend that it is preferable for men to desire from them the noble and kind feelings that must exist between equals rather than the mercenary feelings that a slave feels for his master. As a result of this quest and argument, a new definition of femininity in the framework of the African cosmic order has emerged:
“A human being endowed with all the capabilities and talents required to effectively function and make an impact on all levels of life within society” (Adeife Osemeikhiam, 21).
Despite the foregoing, there is still evidence of gender stereotypes in Africa, which are basically a set of commonly held views or attitudes about what are “appropriate” behaviours and activities for males and what are “appropriate” for females.
As a result, even when men agree with women’s denunciation of their (women’s) societal deprivations, men’s language nonetheless reveals a subtle tendency towards sexist socialisation.
The New Lexicon Webster’s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English Language defines sexism as beliefs and organisations, frequently unconscious, that determine human worth based on gender or sex.
It is defined as prejudice or discrimination directed towards women based on their gender. Sexist socialisation, therefore, refers to the process by which infants and children are raised to adopt attitudes and activities that discriminate against women based on their gender.
This work investigates So Long a Letter in order to emphasise its distinctive language usage as well as the psychological disposition that underpins such language use. Research findings by anthropologists, educationists, and sociolinguistics show that traditionally, males use non-standard language; females use the language of rapport, while males use the language of report; discursive language style is meant for women
while men are given the language of theories and abstractions; females use polite language meant to maintain harmony and strong relationships as well as to keep conversations open, whereas males use the language of asserti Women utilise the language of solidarity, whilst men use the language of expertise.
Statement of the Problem
Men in Africa teach women that they, the men, are the head of the household, which means they are superior to the women. Women are viewed as weak, and as a result, they have no say in community activities.
They have little rights and are forced to do whatever the males want them to do, particularly in Africa. Women are taught to feel inferior, which leads to negative feelings in women.
The objectives of the study
The purpose of this research is to critically examine feminism in Africa.
Significance of the Study
The study would be extremely important in addressing examples of female marginalisation in African society. The study would also aid students, researchers, and academics interested in conducting additional research on the subject.
Scope of the Study
This study is primarily concerned with the critical critique of feminism in Africa.
Research Question
What impact does the language of feminism have on society?
How might the language of feminism be improved?
Definition of Terms
Feminism is the advocacy for women’s rights based on gender equality.
Language is the process of human communication, whether spoken or written, that involves the use of words in an ordered and customary fashion.
Society is the collection of individuals who live together in a more or less orderly environment.
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