Reexamining Traditional Harmful Practices against Women in Some Select Nigerian Drama: A Panacea for African Values

By

Mohammed-Kabir Jibril Imam

Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri-Imo State 08037355827/08051123410

kabirjib@gmail.com/kabirimam2012@ymail.com

&

Musa Yunusa

Department of Theatre Arts, Kogi State College of Education,Ankpa Kogi State

08066054468musayunus68@yahoo.com

Abstract

In recent times, the issue of traditional harmful practices andviolence against women has taken the center stage. The issue hastriggered various literary scholars in Nigeria and beyond to turntheir searchlights on the way forward. These repugnant practiceshave placed women folks in the background. Women’s voices untilrecently are no longer heard in both the traditional and socialstrata of the Nigerian society. They have equally relegated womenin the name of glorifying tradition and culture. The paper looksat how this women maltreatment has propelled and compelledplaywrights both male and female to reecho the menace in theirplays. The paper also investigates and examines the violenceagainst women in the name of upholding tradition and culture’s

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tenets. The study peeps into women struggle through the eye offeminism and strongly advised women that feminism cannot survivein Africa. They should seek alternative means of solving theirchallenges. The researchers adopted case study and contentanalysis approaches of the qualitative research method. The paperconcludes and recommends that neglect of women in the name ofcultural glorification should be condemned and disregarded. Anynegative punishment meted on women under the disguise oftradition should be condemned in its totality. The paperrecommends that the aspect where women are relegated should bereviewed as culture is manmade.

Introduction

It is no gainsaying that the traditional harmful practices

against women have recently generated a lot of arguments among

academic and nonacademic scholars. The dilemma and trauma of

women in Nigeria have galvanized scholars in all spheres of life

and organizations. Most especially the literary scholars like

Sofola, Salami, Okoh, Akoh, Mbachaga, Onwueme Tracie Utoh and

many other literary scholars to re-echo this gravious issues in

their works. That is, the creative works of drama. Though, the

fact remains that from the Quranic and the Biblical realms and

even the traditional realm the role of women has been clearly

defined by the creator of the world. However, the traditional

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harmful practices against women have placed women in the

background. Their voices until recently are no longer heard both

in the traditional and the social settings of Nigeria and Africa

at large.

Obviously, and clearly one sees it that women have been pushed to

the wall in the name of glorifying and gratifying traditions.

These issues of the dilemmas of women in the name of upholding

tradition have triggered playwrights (males and females) to re-

echo these menace in their plays such as; J.P Clark, Tess

Onwueme, Tracie Utoh, Julie Okoh, Zulu Sololá and a host of

others. It is against this background that the researchers have

decided to look at these issues from the literary perspectives.

Though, references will be made to related issues from the

contemporary society for the enhancement, understanding and

comprehension of this research.

Gender Issues and Women: The Variant of Feminism

For an explicit and implicit comprehension of the issues under

discourse, there is the need for us to look at these issues of

gender and women in Nigeria. It is conspicuous that when we talk

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of gender issues what rightly comes to mind is the issue of

gender inequality that has dominated the political realm of the

Nigerian society. Our women under the disguise of feminism seem

to have lose focus in the fight against gender inequality. That

is the main reason why most scholars and critics have openly and

clearly criticized Zulu Sofolá of not taking stand in the fight

for the emancipation of women in Nigeria. This is because she has

blatantly refused to be an exponent of the movement called

feminism. She took her stand with womanism which we shall see as

this paper progresses. To enable us have an in-depth

understanding of this sub-heading we have to jointly look at this

scholarly definition of Angya who puts feminism thus: “Feminism

has been defined as a struggle to articulate women’s vision of

what desirable society would mean for them ranging in practical

terms from issue relating to unequal access of women to

resources, harmful traditional practices, and gender inequality

etc” (55).

This implies that feminism has grown wings that it is no longer

the issue of gender inequality alone but relatively to all issue

affecting women both traditionally and socially. The issue of4

gender is a justice issue “Gender became the justice issue,”

women the “minority” whose interests should be considered (White,

20). White informs the society that what the gender issue is

after is justice and those women who are classified as minority;

their interests should be considered for equality, justice and

social development. On this Akoh Ameh criticizes and gives a

dialectical stance to the western feminism and what feminism

should be doing on the African sore: “…the recurrent motif is the

feminist vision built in the tradition of western culture, and

their very execution the chemical and hypothetical nature of

feminism within a culture that places high premium on the family

system and its values” (59). This suggests that care should be

taken when trying to implement or practice feminism from the

western cultures Euro-America centrism because the African

culture has placed respect on the family system and its values.

Akoh goes to opine that:

Its concrete ideo-aesthetics is total revolution, and theproject of the revolution is conceptually, a highlyambitious one which seeks to break through the walls ofcultural boundaries and attain an identity with globalradical feminism. The end of the revolution is not onlycontradictory but exposes the obscenity and apocalypse ofthe so called new down in typically postmodern turn (58-59).

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Akoh espouses us to the fact that the centre of this ideology

‘Feminism’ is total revolution which main aim is to break through

the walls and bridge the gulf between cultural boundaries and

attain an identity with global radical feminism and catastrophe

awaits us in the end. In this realm other cultures will have to

forget values and norms to embrace the tenets and principles of

global radical feminism. The study contends with Akoh that

feminism cannot cross boundaries because within feminism there is

racism and discrimination. Corroborating this, Patricia Collins,

she contends that: “Even though Black women intellectuals have

long expressed a unique feminist consciousness about the

intersection of race and class in structuring gender,

historically we have not been full participants in white feminist

organizations” (Collins 7). Although feminism claimed as its goal

the emancipation of all women from sexist oppression, it failed

to take into consideration the peculiarities of Black females and

men of colour. In practice, feminism concentrated on the needs of

middle class white women in Britain and America while posing as

the movement for the emancipation of women globally. Bell Hooks

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also accuses feminism of discounting Blacks from participating

fully in the movement, thus she criticizes Betty Freidan’s The

Feminine Mystique (1963) because though it is heralded as paving the

way for contemporary feminist movement, it is written as if the

Black/lower class women did not exist. In Hooks’ view, racism

exists in the writings of white feminist, and as a result, female

bonding is difficult in the face of ethnic and racial

differences.

Worthy of note is the position of a feminist scholar who clearly

states her position on the issue of feminism that: “More than

anyone else, I want to see our women untied for common cause, but

I will not be participatory to any unfiction made under false

ideals. There must be guiding principles or else we will be

building on a weak foundation.” (Sijuade cited in Angya, 62).

From the foregoing Sijuade advices that women coming together to

form a formidable force should have a common cause. That anything

other than that she declines and refuses to be part of it and

that the unity of women to fight for a cause should be on laid

down rules and principles. This is apparent that scholars like

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Zulu Sofola have little or no flare for global feminism at all.

For Hooks in conceptualizing feminism asserts that: “feminism is

the woman freedom to decide her own destiny, freedom from sex

determined role, freedom from society‘s oppression and

restriction, freedom to express her thoughts fully and in convert

them freely into action….” (24). Suffice to note that women have

the right to all the aforementioned above but one fact remains

and is, they still have limitations and restrictions. Therefore,

in attempt to fight for these, caution should be taken as

equality can never be attained what is obtainable is equity and

social justice for societal development beside the principles and

tenets of feminism from the western context. The Nigerian women

no doubt have contact with the western education, the cry in

Nigeria has been gender equality, women in politics, they want to

be president like their male counterparts, they want to be

senators, house of representatives members like their male folk

and so on. Which they are already getting, but they have

forgotten that ‘women are fickle’ women are second fiddle that

some of them have been tested with positions of authority and

have failed, though, some passed; they are doing greatly well

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even where some members failed, the strength is still there for

them to remain, that is why Emeyin’s conception of Sofola is very

vital to us here:

Zulu Sofola’s reaction to African woman’s quest for self-advancement forms the thesis of her article entitled“Feminism and African Womanism” where she survey the dual-sex system of rulership in Africa before her contact withEuropean and Arab culture… this is why Sofola bemoans thefate of modern African women who in their exposure towestern education tend to adopt modern assertion whichdiminish African womanhood (73).

This is of great importance because of the quest of woman in

Nigeria and African at large now, to be like the male

counterparts is so great. That they can only agitate but they

can’t be like the male counterparts. The needs for female

identity has frankly produced other names or concepts for

feminism since it has western inclination and domination such as,

Okpara’s “Femalism” which rejects radicalism but advances the

vary voices in social system through its emphasis on dialogue as

the panacea for gender harmony. Acholonus’s “Motherism” also

repudiates radical feminism advocated by other feminist scholars,

Sololá’s “African Womanism” which also rejects the radical phases

9

of feminism Akoh “Womanism” and Nnaemeka’s “Nego-feminism are all

against radical feminism from Euro-centric point of view.

Hence, the deficiencies of feminism as practiced by middle class

white women and the need to evolve a theory or an ideology that

caters specifically of the needs of Black women folk later led to

the development of another variant of feminism called womanism, a

term coined by Alice Walker in her collection of essays titled In

Search Of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose (1983), thus in a general

context, Womanism establishes an aesthetics for the Black female

literary experience. According to Alice Walker, womanism is:

A black feminist or feminist of color…A woman who lovesother women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates andprefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility(values tears as a natural counterbalance of laughter), andwomen’s strength. Sometimes loves individual men, sexuallyand/or non-sexually committed to survival and wholeness ofentire people, male and female. Not a separatist, exceptperiodically for health. Traditionally universalist… lovesmusic. Loves dance. Loves moon. Loves the spirit. Lovesstruggle. Loves the folk. Loves herself. Regardless;womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender. (xi-xii)

Alternatively, according to Julia Hare cited in Hudson Weems:

“Women who are calling themselves black feminists need another

word to describe what their concern are.” (812) Thus Weems

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similarly asserts that women of African descent who embrace

feminism do so because of the absence of a suitable existing

framework for their individual needs as African women, therefore

she opines and defines Africana womanism to be:

…an ideology created and designed for all women of Africandescent. It is for grounded in African culture, andtherefore, it is necessarily focuses on the uniqueexperiences, struggles, need and desires of African women.It critically addresses the dynamics of the conflict betweenmainstream feminist, the black feminist, the Africanfeminist and the Africana womanism (Weems 24).

In another realm, Catherine Acholonu posits the concept of

Motherism as: “an African alternative

to feminism focused on the centrality of motherhood in the

African female experience.” The study will not bore us with

feminist theories and theorists that are not the areas of focus

in the sub-heading. But permit us to close this sub-heading with

Ezewanebi’s assertion that: “Womanism is … a call for equity and

feminism in the relationship of man and woman in order to build a

society where men and women exist in equal dignity, mutual

respect and self-actualization. It is a protest against, and the

quest for freedom from, all of social and cultural oppression of

African women” (189).

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The Nigerian women in their quest for gender equalities and other

related issues should at least leave aside the issue of equality.

But uphold the issue of equity, fairness and equal dignity and

mutual respect and relationship in order for them to join hand

and contribute their quota to the development and advancement of

the Nigerian society.

Traditional Shrill Practices against Women

This section begins with a more recent tradition as reported by

Alloisius Attah a reporter with Sunday Sun Newspaper of August

14th 2011. It is all about a tradition called “Ndishi tradition”

in Enugu- Ezike in Enugu State of Nigeria. This is a tradition

where any Enugu Ezike woman who is married goes outside to have

extra- marital affairs with another man will go mad until the

rituals embedded are performed. “Ndishi is a spiritual being in

Enugu – Ezike land, which can be seen by spiritual beings who

violate the laws of the land as regards infidelity…” (Sunday Sun,

2011, 7). Ironically, there are other areas of interest in this

report which are areas of concern to this paper and that is the

practices against women. Let see as it is enshrine in the report:12

Another subject of discussion that has trailed the issue of“Ndishi” in Enugu -Ezike land is the argument by some elitethat the progenitor of the tradition made it to keep Ezikewomen in perpetual subjugation while the men are allowed to“sample” ladies other than their wives… Enugu –Ezike men areonly forbidden from sleeping with married women but are freeto have a harden of girlfriends/ concubines or mistresses.Some clever women from Enugu–Ezike challenged this anomalyand experimented only to see instant consequences (SundaySun, 2011, 7).

Yes, what kind of tradition is this? This is a rhetoric question

that needs an apt answer individually. In the Quran when Allah

says don’t fornicate. He means this to both sexes. Also the paper

from findings believes that so it is in the Holy Bible. But, how

come a tradition permits a married man to go and commit adultery

and if the wife tries it she goes mad. There is a very big

question mark here which needs an answer and the right solution

to this kind of tradition. This we could refer to it as

“questionable justice” where a woman will be punished for

committing adultery and the husband goes free. On this Okoh

posits that: “The action was dictated by the law makers in our

society, on the pretext of preserving the indigenous culture of

the people. But the act inflicted very painful indelible trauma

on the victims “Phyche” (Okoh, xii). Tradition and violence

against women is a serious issue in the society which we shall13

see in some of the literary works we shall be looking at in the

subsequent sub-headings. Angya laments that: “one of the factors

that hold women down is superstition and fear of witchcraft.

Women due to their poverty status, lack of capital, and lack of

collateral for access to credit. Women also face harsh treatment

during widowhood” (78).

A lot have been attributed to women. Let look at this popular

saying, when a child is climbing a tree or doing anything that

he/she might get injured. When the African man sees him will say

“your mother head is doing you” the question is, why mother? As

noted above by Angya every bad or evil is women. There is never a

day such good thing was attributed to a woman instead, bad

things. Witchcraft is women, devil is women any bad you can think

of is women. For the society to grow and for social development

to come up then, there is the need to rejuvenate and reconstruct

these traditional laws that have relegated women to the

background. This is obvious because we have been made to

understand that culture is manmade. Some traditions then see

women as evils and till today their voices are not needed when

the issues of tradition comes up. There are avalanche or14

catalogue of questions on traditional sharp practices against and

dilemmas of women that needed to be answered by the custodians of

the various traditions and cultures in Nigeria and Africa at

large. It is penitent to state that some of the harmful

traditional practices against women.

The case of a woman remarrying the brother of the deceased “her

husband’s brother” forcefully, female circumcision, woman

marrying an outcast even though she has found her love and many

other issues have put women in dilemmas. Attributing all sort of

evils to women has also relegated woman to the background. A

woman staying back in the family to continue family line for her

father because he does not have a male child (like the Idegbe

system) until he has one in a gravious one. Calling women

voiceless creatures in the traditional setting is another

fundamental harmful practice against women. These and many more

are attributed to women in Nigeria. Does it mean that the

tradition has purify men that there is no sin committed by them

to incur the wrath of the gods? I will leave us with this

question to ponder on it for a rightful answer that will help in

the development and upliftment of the society and social justice.15

X-raying Some Select Nigerian Drama

Bamidele posits:

...novel or play one may not be investigating onlyethnographic issues but also sociological issues. A numberof novels or plays reveal that everyday life is examinedthrough the correlation of traditions and innovations ofcommunity and renewal because traditional “pattern ofeveryday life” is the principal bearer of specific ethnicfeatures. (57)

From the epigrammatic above, Bamidele reveals that be it novel or

play is either investigating into ethnographic issues or dealing

with sociological issues. In most cases some of these novels and

plays have revealed that everyday life is examined through the

corroboration of traditions and innovations. Angya lending her

voice to this, looks at drama and it attendants’ role to the

society: “subject of drama is meant to draw attention to the

issues that have been over looked but which lie at the heart of

the bigger issue that we are most common with”. This implies

that, drama in attempt to educate, inform and entertain also

looks at the issue that have been over looked and so, uses live

in core and heart of the bigger issue. Hence, the need to

succinctly look at some plays by Nigerian playwrights, and how

women are been maltreated becomes ultimately imperative as that

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forms the nexus of discourse in this paper. There is need for

brief clarification and short note on how some playwrights

polemically handle this issue of tradition in their own ways.

Let us critically x-ray the plays of some scholars like Tracie

Utoh-Ezeajugh, Zulu Sofola, Julie Okoh and a host of others. How

they represent some of these traditional sharp practices and

their attendants dilemmas on women. In Zulu Sofola’s plays for

instance, like; The Sweet Trap, Old Wines are Tasty and Wedlock of the gods.

Perhaps, if one takes a look at the two later plays one discovers

that the issues of tradition and harmful practice are re- echoed

in them. But our concentration and affinity will dwell on The

Sweet Trap. Where the stand of Sofola is seen clearly. It is

obvious that Clara Sotubo stands against her husband and Fatima

who is an uneducated girl was influenced by the societal women

“the citified women” as this study would like to call them.

Nevertheless she later in the world of play realizes that this

cannot work. Fatima in The Sweet Trap utters a statement which

according to the opinions of many critics like Itop Akoh, Angya,

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Onwueme and others clearly defined the playwright’s position as

anti- feminist ideology. One of Fatima’s lines which clearly

shows the playwright’s stance in the play is “A woman’s crown is

her husband” this can simply be put as no matter what woman does,

she remains second in command to man in the family line.

In Tess Onwueme’s The Broken Calabash. These issues of traditions

were re-echoed. The first tradition here is that, is a taboo for

a widow to sleep with a man until after three months of the

bereavement. Though, this I don’t have too much problem with

because it could be to ascertain, affirm and confirm, perhaps

there may be pregnancy for the deceased husband, because if there

is pregnancy, this period was enough for the pregnancy to have

shut out. The second tradition in The Broken Calabash is that, the

widow is expected to marry a member of the deceased husband’s

younger brother to raise a family for her dead husband against

her will. This part of the tradition, is it not callous? Is it

because the bride price was paid and that will subject the woman

to such subjugations and prejudices? This is a replica of an

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Idegbe tradition in Delta State and some other parts of Nigeria.

This is almost a facsimile of what you see if you read through

the pages of Mbachaga’s Widow’s Might. In this play a widow is

accused of killing her husband and forced to marry her brother-

in-law after the death of her husband in the name of upholding

tradition’s tenets. The woman to strip herself naked in the

presence of elders that are old enough to be her fathers, is that

not a taboo on its own?

The same issue of Idegbe system as earlier noted was also re-

echoed by Zulu Sofola in her play Old Wines are Tasty. An attempt for

the woman to refuse she invokes the wrath of the gods on no

account of her own. Why? Just like we discussed in this paper the

Indishi practice in Enugu-Ezike. That too can be put in a play

form for people to read and feed themselves with grounded and

authentic information. The Idegbe system and its attendant

results were re-echoed. How an Idegbe offspring was denied the

right to contest for a political post in the village. That is the

danger in upholding this kind of tradition. It does not tell on

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women alone but the consequences have also extended and shifted

to the male folks. The study opines that such cultural practice

can be reviewed. When we exhume the information in Sofola’s Old

Wines are Tasty, where the playwright made an effort to mirror the

society. The tradition portrays in this play is the Idegbe

tradition which demands that a woman is subjected to marrying her

own father as the first daughter because, the father does not

have a male child, against her will. In pretext of practicing

tradition. The study makes bold to ask that how on earth a woman

should be subjected to this kind of barbaric and traditional

sharp practices like this? This and many other rhetorical

questions are left for us to answer.

Tracie Utoh-Ezeajugh’s Out of the mask is not left out of the

struggle. The play addresses the issues of women maltreatment,

molestation, subjugation and humiliation. It goes on to hamper on

how women should try to bridge the gulf between men and women by

seeking equality, equity and humanization of the dehumanized that

have been meted on the women folks. A critical assessment of some

of these salient issues in the play will help the study. The

efforts try to obviate and bring to the fore some of these issues20

and how women try to ameliorate their predicaments. Izunna

saying:

Chei! Abomination! Look at how these female-things talkingabomination about masquerades. The cabinet must here this.It is a taboo and you must suffer this punishment (Out of theMask 94).

Abomination! Women have done abomination (105).

How on earth can somebody be punished because she discusses

masquerades. This one of the questions about tradition that

remains unanswered till today. The quest for women to demand for

their rights is also considered to be taboo. This is more

conspicuous through the following exchanges. And, how such

demands metamorphosed to insults in ways of the men. The

researchers strongly uphold that most aspects of our traditions

and cultures need to be checkmated and reviewed. Obidigbo equally

saying about women and culture:

First women desecrate the masquerades, and now we have theIgwe’s daughter throwing insults at us, and challenging ourcustom and tradition. May be we have offended the godswithout knowing (124).

Unamba: Abomination! Igwe is harboring abomination in hispalace. Women have not only worn masquerade, but theyalso want to discuss masquerade matters! (125)

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Through these plays women can wake up and see truly which fight

are they supposed to be fighting? Is it the fight for equality or

the fight for the emancipation of women from all sort of cultural

and traditional maltreatments and subjugations? James opines

that: “I have always said that the only way the African woman of

today, with the European orientation which we call education, can

be liberated, is to study the traditional system and the place of

women as defined by it” (150).

James disagrees with the issues of feminism and fight against men

folks. If there is any where women are marginalized it should,

and remain the traditional system. Suffice to note that these

plays and many other plays have looked into the various issues of

tradition and its attendant’s harmful practices against women.

Array of scholars have written and are still writing on women and

traditional maltreatments. But, one issue remains obvious, the

issue of purder (Islamic veil) in the Islamic tradition which has

been over flocked by literary scholars. Let us get one thing

clear because there is a distinctive gulf between divine laws and

man-made tradition or man-made laws. While the issue of purder in

Islam is divine law, you are not forced to wear hijab or purder,22

but, advertently, you have to decide and be convinced before

putting on hijab. That the more conspicuous reason why you will

find the above assertion accurate is that the number of Muslims

women who put on hijab today cannot be equated or outweigh those

that don’t put on hijab. We will not bore you with this issue as

that is not the focus of this study. But, relatively, in the

whole of Igala land where the researchers come from, especially

some part of Ankpa and Olamaboro there is the belief of Ibegwu

(ancestors) who afflict people with bad notions with incurable

ailments because these people believe in them.

In the fullness of time by Julie Okoh, she tells us through the play the

kind of treatment women receive under the cover of tradition.

Okoh’s major engagement in the play is entirely freedom of women

hood from the inequality and social injustice meted on women in

the name of tradition. When a critical view is taken, you see

this very clearly with Adudu and Ofure in world of the play.

Conversely, Egwemi argues that women have discovered that over

the times that now tradition has pinned them down. But they have

taken a bold stance in the globalization process now on this he

posits further:23

Just like we observed earlier in this essay, women haveovercome cultural barriers which in the past hindered themfrom reaching their fullest potential in development. Therecent gradual changes in traditional attitudes by both menand women especially women who now discovered that they arenot choiceless in the so-called man dominated culture, havebegun to take their proper place in the transformation ofNations in Africa and the world over (28).

From the forgoing, it is evident that women have started taking

decisions on their lines. In terms of dropping traditions and

cultures that relegated them to the background. However, their

efforts is still not enough, there is need for invigoration by

both males and females to change the conditions of women under

the pretext of glorifying and gratifying tradition.

Conclusion

It is imperative and pertinent for us to conclude this discourse

with one of the lines in Julie Okoh’s In the Fullness of Time. From

this line we can deduce the playwright’s position. One of the

24

characters in the play, a female character puts the emancipation

of women thus:

Etnsi: The freedom we are fighting is different. It canonly be achieved if man and woman work together tobuild an equitable society: a society earth andeveryone, irrespective of gender or ethnicity, canaspire to the highest position…and not that of amaster and slave (In the fullness…86).

From the dialogue above, one can adduce and deduce that for

societal development and egalitarian society to come. There is

need for the eradication of women’s maltreatment, subjugation and

subjection be it in the social setting or traditional setting.

Array of scholars have succinctly written vigorously and

rigorously on the issues of traditional harmful practices against

women. There is the necessity for change in the patriarchal

society to allow development in all ramifications. A lot of

traditions that have thrown women to the background should be

done away with or reviewed. Women should be given a place and

their voices should be heard in both traditional and social

settings to allow societal upliftment and developments in all

spheres of life. Women should not be voiceless and choiceless as

Shannon Bell rightly puts it that: “male public space in which

25

women are regarded as ‘a silent companion of the social contract”

(25). Nonetheless, we still uphold that as we clamour for women

to be seen in the society and given respect the aspect of

tradition which stands to corrects and cautions women should be

sustained for societal harmony and progress. From the foregoing,

the study caps its discourse on Omolara Ogundipe-Lesile

proposition on Stiwanism which she coins as: ‘social

transformation including women of Africa.’ She goes further to

add that she:

… wanted to stress the fact that what we want in Africa issocial transformation. It is not about warring with men, thereversal of role, or doing to men whatever women think thatmen have been doing for centuries, but it is trying to builda harmonious society. The transformation of African societyis the responsibility of both men and women and it is alsoin their interest. The new word describes what similarlyminded women and myself would like to see in Africa. Theword “feminism” itself seems to be a kind of red rag to thebull of African men. Some say the word by its very nature ishegemonic or implicitly so. Others find the focus on womenin themselves somehow threatening … some who are genuinelyconcerned with ameliorating women’s lives sometimes feelembarrassed to be described as ‘feminist’ unless they areparticularly strong in character (1).

This apparently is the kind of movement that can help women in

Africa and not feminism from Euro-centric tendencies.

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Recommendations

Based on the observations and positions above, it is crystal

clear that there must be a handful of recommendations; Nigerian

dramatists have tried in championing the course of women. But it

looks like the efforts are not enough. Therefore, there is need

for reinvigoration in the quest for the emancipation of the

Nigerian women by both male and female playwrights.

The Nigerian woman should redirect and redefine her intention. It

presupposes that the wakeup call for equality by the western

feminism should be rechecked. They should be more concerned and

concise with equity in their noble course than equality. If

equity is accepted and embraced by their male counterparts then

equality which they sought will not be far-fetched.

It is generally believed that culture is manmade. These

researchers are of the opinion that if tradition is manmade then

there is need for review of most of our cultures in the continent

and country for the sustainability of African values and norms.

This is because men and women are meant to complement each other

for the sustainability of the society.

27

Our men should equally remember and know that our women are parts

of us. We live together so that we can complement each other.

Thus, efforts should be made towards the recognition of our women

in all ramifications for a sustainable egalitarian society.

28

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