The Role of Women in African Society - Term Paper Example

Titus Rock Manickam Order No. 198297     20 December 2007 The Role of Women in African Society The African society must applaud all those women within its territories for the multifarious roles they play in its development, sustenance and growth. An African woman has the unenviable role of having to be mother, a dutiful wife to the husband, caretaker of the household which ostensibly have a large number of children, as well as be an educator for the children in the family. Given the patriarchal nature, cultural values and beliefs that border on barbarism, women in African society have been facing major challenges for their very survival, and the means for eking out a living with even the bare minimum modicum of decency has not been at all easy whereby they could effectively fulfill their roles as useful members of society. According to various literatures published on development issues by The International Monitory Fund and the World Bank, the conditions of African women living in Sub-Saharan Africa is probably the bleakest on earth (Blackden 34) One cannot but recoil in shock and revulsion at the way women have been facing the twin trauma of being denied their basic human rights that every nation is supposed to guarantee to their citizens and the misfortune of being subjugated with callous disregard and disrespect in their own families. For many African women, daily life is a nightmarish reality and sheer horror, with diseased and impoverished children and community living in appalling conditions. To add insult to injury, African women customarily face the demeaning prospect of being abandoned by their husbands whose behavior could even unreservedly turn violent. Recent observations in Africa reveal that it is not uncommon for woman to be banished from their homes and even community, resulting in untold pain, suffering and humiliation to the woman. (Blackden 34). Nevertheless, the story does not always end in despair and tragedy. Africa has its share of gritty women who have appeared like phoenix out of the ashes of despondency and gloom to steer not only women and children but entire societies and communities out of apathy and nonchalance. Senegalese writer and woman protagonist, Mariamma Ba, in her book, So Long a Letter, has forcefully brought out the social evils plaguing women in the African society with its brand of traditional and Islamic fundamental culture. The story revolves around Ramatoulaye, a prototype of the writer herself, and the enigma and frustration she goes through as a result of abandonment by her husband for a younger girl who happens to be his daughter’s friend. The consequent events in the story poignantly weaves the destiny of a woman who prefers to stay back by her errant husband’s side enduring the trauma and finds solace in her religion which she faithfully follows in spite of the ordeal she is made to undergo in a society claiming to follow the very religion she also adheres to. While the author portrays Ramatoulaye’s stoic handling of her unfortunate situation, she also goes a step further and provides a dash of rebellion by the character of Aissatou, Ramatoulaye’s friend, who divorces her husband and migrates to the United States to pursue a more cheerful and rational environment. Aissatou’s clear preference for a more progressive and urbane way of life and absolute refusal to acquiesce with whatever treatment is meted out to her seem to beckon women in Africa to shed their inhibitions to follow the more open and progressive lifestyle gaining ground everywhere in the world today. As a matter of fact, not all women take indignities lying down. Known to be tough and unyielding, they have a mind of their own, and won’t easily allow themselves to be pushed around. Africa has its share of such female dare-devils. They rise and fight injustices and social discriminations inflicted on them. Given proper leadership and motivation, the African woman is capable of rising to the occasion to maintain and preserve her dignity. Till the time Mariama Ba began writing, no woman had made an attempt to do so, as writing was considered an exclusive male preserve, and out of bounds for women. Besides, education of the female child was not only discouraged but also looked down upon. (Japtok 67) Later, when Mariama Ba began writing, she found a contemporary in Tsitsi Ndangaremba who wrote Nervous Condition. These writers analyzed and discussed the role of the African woman by touching on themes of relevance and issues that needed to be addressed. Some of the burning issues concerned patriarchy, colonialism, and education. (Japtok 67) In So Long A Letter, Mariama Ba (1929-1981), poignantly exposes the deplorable living conditions women face in Africa, and attempts to present a situation where better alternatives are available and are being pursued by some of the women who are bold enough to shake off the stifling shackles of a life bound within a selfish and dominating patriarchy. The story succinctly brings up the themes of exploitation and patriarchy and makes a strong case for emancipation of woman in a highly partisan and patriarchal society. In doing so, while it favorably deals with migration, it also strongly advocates the cause of women preferring to stay put in their families with the men-folk in spite of their misdemeanors, and draw up important issues of fairness, honesty and integrity within family and societal circles. (Mariam Ba 34). Through her letters to her friend Aissatou, Ramatoulaye distinguishes her own living conditions with those that are more tolerant and open. Mariama Ba is clear she has no issue with her religion while denouncing the way the insensitive sections of society were misusing familial issues in the name of Islamic culture to serve their own purposes. Ramatoulaye who is at the receiving end of a society that is partisan towards the male and oppressive towards women, chooses to continue living with a wayward husband. To educate the young women who are vulnerable to men’s devious ways and on other injustices in the African society against women, Ba demonstrates the vulnerability of men who instinctively and impulsively choose to act on their innate passions that costs a lifetime of misery and bondage to the entire family and weakens the basic foundation of society which is entrenched in the family unit. Simultaneously, it illumes in no uncertain terms the capability of women as catalysts of change in society through responsibility, self-sacrifice and education. She takes a dig at the weak and irresponsible nature of the male members, prominently featuring their power and potential, but shrewdly tugging at their deviant sexual attitudes. She narrates to her girlfriend, Aissatou, the pain, suffering and humiliation she has had to deal with because of her husband’s decision to marry a younger wife, Binnetou, her daughter’s friend, and classmate (Mariam Ba 56) Ramatoulaye is an educated women working as a schoolteacher. She is a very intelligent woman who seems to know a lot about the nature of men. Ramatoulaye lays special emphasis on the bestial instincts of man and constantly cautions her daughter to be wary of them. She argues that man’s instinct has got to be tempered ‘‘through self-control, his ability to reason, to choose his power to attachment, which distinguishes him from animal’’ (Mariama Ba, 1981). It is because of this that she has taken the step to write to Aissatou in the hope that she will find peace within her self. (Mariam Ba 45). The protagonist knows what is useful for woman. She shows that for women to succeed in life, they should learn to know their own minds, have faith in themselves, and make conscious efforts to overcome the numerous pockets and areas of darkness and insecurities that surround their lives and social system. Ramatoulaye is well aware that she has to overcome the shame and pain inflicted on her by her husband’s acts of humiliation and betrayal. She overcomes her trails and tribulations by devoting herself to her religion, Islam, which plays an important role in providing solace to her broken heart and soul. When Ramatoulaye is lonely and is missing her ‘warm’ husband, she decides to overcome her shyness and treads over her shame by making a trip to the cinema in an effort to change and rev up her mind. She has learnt to deal with her problems all by herself which is evident by her choosing to go alone to the cinema. (Mariam Ba 67). Ramatoulaye educates her daughter on the Sharia law and the Islamic religion. She admonishes her daughter for wearing such clothes which the Sharia law forbids. For instance, when her daughter puts on trousers and occidental clothes, she tells her off, advising her on the evils associated with such behavior. In essence, Ramatoulaye knows that in order to perform her roles effectively, she has to overlook the unjust nature of her society and forge ahead with her duties and obligations as an African woman. This is depicted when her husband dies and she has to share the mourning of her late husband with her co-wife. She has to put aside the differences they had while he was alive, forget how he had neglected her and her twelve children, and gone ahead to squander his wealth with his younger wife. (Mariam Ba 56). In emphasizing on the role of the African woman in the African society, Ramatoulaye assiduously states that books can be used as a weapon. ‘A peaceful weapon but they are, perhaps, but they are weapons.’ (Mariam Ba, 1981). She strongly believes in the marvelous invention of books. Despite the fact that her society does not encourage women to go to school and gain formal education like their male counterparts, Ramatoulaye goes to school, works hard and gets a paying job where she earns a salary to support her family. (Mariam Ba 56). In discussing the role of the African woman, Mariama Ba examines the patriarchal system within the African society. Ramotaulaye lives in a patriarchal Senegalese society, which is structured in form of family units whereby the father has the primary responsibility for the well-being of the family units. The men in this society are expected to act as representatives through any form of public office. Despite the fact that the father is expected to provide for the whole family, Ramoutalaye’s husband does not provide adequate protection and sustenance to his wife and their twelve children. Ramotaulaye has to use her salary to provide for the family despite performing other major familial roles. (Mariam Ba). The Patriarchal society in the Islamic tradition holds the belief that the father should be the provider and protector of the family. The father in the family holds such a high rank and honor. For the women, they have to get married to elder men who have accumulated wealth over the years and who are believed to be in a position to offer security to their families. This is clearly portrayed when Minnetou’s parents decide to sell her of to Modou so that she could be adequately assured of care and protection. (Mariam Ba). This Senegalese society is a male dominated society, which has being constructed from a patriarchal ideology, an ideology that the woman is a lesser member of the society and thus is looked down upon by her male counterpart. This society is discriminatory in that the women are not accorded equal roles as the male. From the time Ramatoulaye had entered school, she was discriminated against since she was seen as wanting to occupy the role of the father in the family. Normally, only boys were allowed to go to school and learn so as to acquire formal knowledge which put them in a better position to get employed and gain the means to provide for their families (Mariam Ba). The Sharia law allows men to be polygamous which gives Aissatou’s husband the mandate to go ahead to take another wife. This oppressive law expects woman to keep quiet and willingly accept and learn to live with her husband’s unacceptable acts of betrayal of their long earned life and the years spent together. Because Aissatou is a woman, she is not expected to make her own decisions, which determine her destiny. When she decides to take divorce due to her husband’s betrayal, she is looked down upon by society as an outright outcast since she rebels and rejects the notion of her society by choosing her own life away from her husband, Mawdo. (Mariam Ba 67). In addressing the role of the African women, Tsitsi Ndagaremba in her work, Nervous Conditions, deals with the themes of colonization, education and patriarchy, which vividly bring out the role of the African woman. The author uses the fictitious character Tambudza, a 13-year-old girl struggling to escape the parameters of the Rhodesian patriarchal society she is living in. The girl is portrayed as having lived under the oppression of her elder brother, Nhamo for years. Since he is the only boy in the family, their uncle Babamukuru gives him preferential treatment by taking him to the mission school where he is working as the headmaster. However, despite Tambudza’s begging to be allowed to go to school, she could not change her father’s decision of being allowed the chance to do so. This unequivocally proves women in the African society are not given the opportunities to get ahead in life. (Dangarembga 56). Babamukuru is portrayed as the only member of the family who has achieved much while the rest of his family members remained illiterate and poor. Tambudza remained illiterate until the day her brother died. It was then that she became the favored of the family. Her brother’s death opened her parent’s eyes and they began to recognize her presence thus making her life happier. Jeremiah, Tambudza’s father is portrayed as a lazy worthless fellow who does not provide for his family while her mother is portrayed as having been wearied down by ignorance and misery. (Mibamba&Ekechi 67). Mokoma’s wife is educated and goes to live in London along with her children Nyasha, Chido, and husband. She and her husband travel ostensibly for further studies. The women in this story are depicted as educated who strive against all odds to attain bachelor’s degree. She loves the art of acquiring new knowledge and that’s why she encourages Nyasha and Chido to be introduced to new knowledge.Tambudza manages to secure for herself a scholarship to go and study in Sacred Heart School, a very prestigious school which promises her a bright future. Dangaremba’s novel jells with the other genres, which resist any form of strict, formal classification in a fundamental form of ideology that poses questions on the validity of open-minded, humanistic concepts involving discovery of the self, which keeps a record of the triumphs and successes of an individual woman who is struggling against all odds. (Dangarembga 56) The author creates a form, which challenges all assumptions which underlie any literary forms, which has the function of reinforcing the hegemony of all forms of colonial values through the act of celebrating an individual’s achievement within a setting, which can be termed as progressive in terms of its economy and politics. Nervous Conditions are a text, which does not stabilize the idea of progression and individual achievement in the societies in question (Dangarembga 56) She demonstrates the deformation and truncation of the lives of women, Dangaremba’s narrator, ‘Tambu, subverts the very notion of development as she acknowledges how ‘the generations of threat, assult and neglect’’ batter the unhelpful myths of women into attitudes about themselves that African women internalize.” (Dangarembga 56) Franz Fanon in his work, Black Skin White Mask, published in 1952, focuses on the negative effects of colonialism on the locals in Africa. It dwells on the feelings of helplessness and inadequacy felt by the Africans while under foreign rule. Dangarembga and Fanon are unanimous in their opinion that there is a suffocating feeling of oppression among women in the African system that brings home the point that the social system in Islamic Africa has lost its moorings, and writers, particularly women writers, are increasingly becoming eloquent in expressing the views that for any attempt at improvement, the nation and society has to address women in particular, and correct the idea that under the cover of religion and culture, any section of society could be victimized. The appropriateness and reformation of discourse pervades much of the writer’s work (Fanon 43) Fanon and Tsitsi address the themes of colonization by employing different types of approaches.Tsitsi addresses the issue of colonization of the self by depicting how woman in Africa have been influenced by colonialism, and found herself in a situation where it is almost impossible for her to come out and attain a measure of achievement. The young African woman is portrayed as being denied her rights to education as well as favor as a member of the family. The men are being portrayed as being the colonizers of the minds of the women in the families. They enslave women in the family in that the women have no choice to make with regard to their prospects in life. Despite the fact that Tambudza looks for some form of employment in an effort to make money to pay her school fees, she finds herself not being allowed to join school. (Fanon 43). Tambudza’s mother is portrayed as an incapable, dejected woman who is not in a position to act decisively since it is her husband who should be providing for her and her household, and in this dilemmatic situation, they continue to remain in a state of abject poverty. Fanon addresses the issue of colonization by portraying the impact the French colonization had on the citizens of Algeria. (Ojaide 54). In conclusion, the African woman can be said to be playing a major role in the development, enhancement and growth of her society regardless of her geographical settings and social and familial challenges. Nevertheless, in spite of this debilitating position, pioneering Africa women like Mariama Ba and Tsitsi Dangaremba relentlessly continue to strive against all odds to resist and overcome the challenges in the patriarchal society they live in. They are beacons to the rest of the women the world over and Africa in particular, that the bonds of ignorance, victimization and intimidation could be effectively and successfully broken asunder for the waft of freedom and progress to breeze in. They have performed an yeoman service in taking upon themselves the responsibility as educators and activists for a just society where millions of her female counterparts whose minds have being rendered immobile through centuries of male dominated ideologies, could benefit from. They have unswervingly stood their ground and waged war against the injustices and disparities by skillfully and devotedly using the power of the pen. Works Cited Blackden, Mark. Gender, time use, and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank Publication, 2006. ISBN 0821365614. Dangarembga, Tsi Tsi.Nervous breakdown .Scattle: The Seal Press Fanon, Frantz. Black skin, White Masks. Plato Press.ISBN 0745300359. Fanon, Frantz. The wretched of the Earth. Grove, 2004.ISBN 0802141323. Japtok, Martin. Postcolonial perspectives on women writers from Africa, the Caribbean, Africa World Press, 2003.ISBN 159220686 Mariam Ba.So long a letter. Harcourt Heinemann, 1989.ISBN 040359 0554. Mibamba&Ekechi.Afican Market women and economic power: The role of women in Greenwood Press, 1995.ISBN 0313292140. Ojaide, Tanure.Cultutre, society, and politics in modern African literature: Texts and Contexts. Carolina Academic Press, 2002.ISBN 0890 891427. Read More