WOMEN AS AGENT OF TRANSFORMATION IN OLA ROTIMI’S OUR HUSBAND HAS GONE MAD AGAIN AND IRENE ISOKEN’S SWEET REVENGE
WOMEN AS AGENT OF TRANSFORMATION IN OLA ROTIMI’S OUR HUSBAND HAS GONE MAD AGAIN AND IRENE ISOKEN’S SWEET REVENGE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Women as agent of transformation in African societies, both educationally, politically and literary cannot be over emphasized. Women writing in Africa arose from the desire to introduce a feminine perspective to the socio-political vision of Africa as portrayed by male writers and to also address issues relating to female subjectivity, oppression, domination and socio-cultural discrimination in order to expose the cultural impediments affecting the female folks.
The term ‘feminism’ has also been derived from the Latin word ‘femina,’ meaning ‘woman’ and was first used with regard to the issues of equality and women’s Rights Movement. It is also a wide range of political movements, ideologies and social movements that share a common goal to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal and social equality of sexes.
WOMEN AS AGENT OF TRANSFORMATION IN OLA ROTIMI’S OUR HUSBAND HAS GONE MAD AGAIN AND IRENE ISOKEN’S SWEET REVENGE
Chukwuma states: “Feminism means a rejection of inferiority and a striving for recognition. It seeks to give the woman a sense of self as a worthy, effectual and contributing human being. Women conditioning in Africa is the greatest barrier toward a fulfillment of self (ix). Similarly, Beauvoir also supports the view that the terms, masculine and feminine are used symmetrically only as a matter of form on the legal papers.
Therefore, feminism according to the author is to seek for women’s equality and justice in every sphere of life, and to create opportunities for women to have the same access to the resources that are otherwise freely available to men. In the same vein, Chukwuma further defines ‘feminism’ as a state of being feminine or womanly. While the Webster’s Dictionary defines the term ‘feminism’ as the principle that women should have political rights equal to those of men.
Based on these definitions, it is obvious that feminism covers diverse area of inquiry, dealing with the history of women’s oppression and possible means to overcome the ‘anxiety of authorship’ by establishing a literary canon of their own.
On the other hand, the African novels present different images of women in the contemporary patriarchal society. In their novels, female characters do not have their own identity or story to be called or celebrated. For instance, Buchi Emecheta, Nawal El Saadawi, Ama Ata Aidoo, Flora Nwapa, Efua Sutherland, Akachi Ezeigbo, Zaynab Alkali, Bessie Head, Mariama Ba and others are African feminist writers who portray their characters in the feminist literature.
These feminist writers have used their literary works as a tool in giving vivid descriptions of the challenges of African women in their respective societies. These female writers in their writings have reveals the various forms of subjugation and oppression faced by the women in African society, and how these women suffers of genders discrimination and socio cultural oppression in their various societies. Women as agent of transformation in Ola Rotimi’s our husband has gone mad again and Irene Isoken’s sweet revenge.
Furthermore, unlike Rotimi who is an influential writer with traditional architectural forms, Isoken Orosanye is regarded by critics as one of the best contemporary female writer and a dramatist whose works have contributed immensely to the advocacy of women empowerment in Nigeria through her dramatic pieces and other female gender oriented works.
Her writings situated her female characters in the present day Nigerian society. She write to empowers her female characters to stand up to and address issues in a closed society that is dominated by the convictions, doctrines and ideologies of the male genders.
Stated on the above views, the background to this research work aims at examining the influence of women as agents of transformation in African societies in Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again And Irene Isoken’s Sweet Revenge.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Socially, women are specially gifted in so many ways. They are the sunshine of the world. Also, they bear the brunt of men. In addition, they tend to be more patient and understanding. Women as real agents of change bring glamour to the world and most men agree that this world would have been so boring and miserable without the presence of women.
In literature, as examined in Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again and Irene Isoken’s Sweet Revenge, women’s representation is observed and criticized with feminist approach. These writers have showed that African literature portrays women in different shades.
These literary writers also portray their female characters in the stereotype of an oppressed and subjugated wife who has little if any say in shaping her destiny or changing the system that deprives and oppresses her. These different portrayals shows women’s role in different situations and different cultures, which is moving and not static.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
This study aimed to examine women as agent of transformation in Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again And Irene Isoken’s Sweet Revenge.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This research work will be immensely significant to English and literature students in the understanding towards the contributions of African women. The study will also be of significant to other researchers who would fine this research significant for advance research on the contributions and transformation of African women writers.
Moreso, the reader of this research work will also find the writings of Ola Rotimi’s novels, particularly Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again and Irene Isoken’s Sweet Revenge important and what the literary novels entails in African literature.
1.5 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study are:
- to portray the contributions of the women characters who are seen as agent of transformation in Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again and Irene Isoken’s Sweet Revenge.
- to analyse the various contributions in the lives of African women as agent of transformation in African societies.
- to examine the importance of women in African society both educationally and socially.
1.6 Research Methodology
This research work is a literary research based. It is based on primary and secondary sources. The primary sources are textual materials of Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again and Irene Isoken’s Sweet Revenge. The secondary sources will make use of the collection of some selected African novels, libraries, internet materials, academic journals, Newspapers, magazines and articles will be used for more information the work.
1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The scope of this research work will be limited to the selected novels of Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again and Irene Isoken’s Sweet Revenge.
Conclusion
This research work was on Women as Agent of Transformation in Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again and Irene Isokem’s Sweet Revenge. The tow playwrights have showed the advantages of the leadership roles that African women played in the development of various African societies, which cannot be underestimated both politically and socially. Women as agent of transformation in Ola Rotimi’s our husband has gone mad again and Irene Isoken’s sweet revenge.
In various traditional African societies, the African woman has always possessed the power that binds the society together. In Salami’s Sweet Revenge the parameter measure of societal norms has proved that patriarchal code of conducts still exist and its several burden on women is still a reality.
However, from the discussion, Salami proves enough that she is not a bench-warming spectator. As a result, in her Play, through Aisosa, her protagonist, she is able to point out that women are patient and trustworthy but their patience is not without limit.
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