INTRODUCTION
This chapter will look into the background and the general introduction of feminism using Buchi Emecheta and Zaynab Akali’s ‘The Joys of Motherhood and ‘The Stillborn’ respectively. Also, it shall discuss purpose and scope of the study and finally the biography of the two authors.
1.1Background of the study
Feminist ideology is found on the need to develop a female tradition of creativity to cause awareness on the plight of women as the oppressed, deprived, subjugated and unfulfilled gender. This ideology is known in European Africa continents.
On the European scene, in the 18th century, the male writers like snake spare, Chaucer, John and Milton had made their names as great author and set tradition for stale and form in literature. However, their writings hardly focused on the female character but when female authors like Austen, George Eliot came to the scene in the 19th century, their works suffered rejection for what was regarded as ‘19th century critics’ as their female trivialities and frivolities in their choice of themes and in their characterization.
Feminism is seen in Africa as an imported ideology alien to the African society and it is seen as the newest form of neo-colonialism and so because of this most of African female writers preferred to be referred to as motherist or womanist instead of feminist because Africans believe that most matrimonial homes have being ruined because of feminism. Womanism according to Alice Walker means matured, responsible, courageous behaviour of girlish gender.
In Nigeria, women have gone into professions that were once regarded as exclusively for men. This is to say that Nigeria women are achieving more of her goals and gradually asserting herself. Religiously, feminism is believed to be evil and being regarded as a rebellious act of the female gender. Feminism is believed to be the lie of the Devil {Gen.3:6). According to Pastor Jack, he referred to feminist as ‘Goddesses who have being forced into amnesia by primitive white men trying to keep them from their true potential’. He added that feminism is a spiritual movement partly on reawakening goddesses consciousness and its real goal is matriarchy not equality. Socially, women are climbing the ladder of success as women now earn as much as men, after taking into account such as family status, education, profession and the number of hour worked.
Putting all these argument together, one can come up with a working definition of feminism as a political, cultural and economic movement aimed at establishing greater, equal or among a minority superior right and participation in society for the female folks.
There are many issue militating against feminism in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. This is because feminism is viewed by men as an unpardonable drive for equality between sexes in a rather negative outburst which is a reflection on the dominant cultural attitude in Nigeria. A newspaper article of Nigeria Dailies covering a period between March and November 1996 describe feminist as ‘------- iconoclasts who want to subvert tradition, treat religious injunction with disdain and pick holes in the sociological make-up of the people it is therefore obvious that such negative and conservative motion persist with regards to feminism in this jet-age of liberation of anthropologist, sociologist, political growth.
Different supportive organizations have being raised to assist the female forks examples are National Council of Women Society (NCWAS). The Women in Nigeria (WIN). The Nigeria Association of Women Advancement (NAWA). However, despite the achievement and the effort made by both governmental and non-governmental organization, feminism has not reached dominated society and westerly influenced both locally and internationally.
Olu Obafemi remarked that ‘as a result of the prevalent nature of the systematic obfuscation of ideological perception of the society --------- a deliberate mystification by the perpetration of the status quo clear ideological position and friends are yet to gain objective, appreciation, tolerance of expression and responsiveness from the dominant socio-political system’ it is from within this social milieu that the few feminist novel in Nigeria have emerged a society that promote the mystification of feminism to portrait dehumanization of women can hardly produce a large number of feminist writers and writings of a thoroughly uninhibited feminist discourse, hence, on the literary scene, we have situation where by women writers and critics are apologetic on behalf of feminism. Feminist therefore prefer to be appreciated rather than being criticized for their effort, they also want to be supported though encouragement to work harder and alongside the opposite sex.