Emergence of New Feminine Identity in Africa
The Case of AMA ATA Aidoo's Changes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17722/jell.v14i3.1188Keywords:
Feminism, womanist, African Feminist, African-American feministAbstract
This article discusses the new feminine identity as reflected in the characterization of Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes. It postulates that Aidoo, in her novel, has advocated a paradigm shift with respect to how society views women. The article argues that feminism is not limited to, and is not the preserve of, only female writers, but also male writers who write about the plight of women. It is the view of this article that the change of mindset about women Aidoo calls for, is seen through, and from the perspective of, the six female characters in the Novel. The article takes a textual analysis approach to examine these female characters from the perspective of education and tradition. The article concludes that through these female characters, the educated and the uneducated, Ama Ata Aidoo is calling for a certain change of mind towards how the African society sees the woman-calling for a new feminine identity.
References
Achebe C. (1987). Anthills of the Savannah.Heinmann
Achebe, C. (1964). Arrow of God. Heinemann, London.
African Union (AU). 2003. ‘’Protocol to the African Charter Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa’’, Adopted by the second Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, Maputo, 11 July 2003 http://www.soawr.org/en/ auprotocol/article/text/
African Union Gender Policy (2009 Feb 10). Rev. 2 Retrieved from http:/S/wgd.au.int/en/content/african-union-gender-policy
Ahikire, J. (2008) “Vulnerabilities of Feminist Engagement and the Challenges of Developmentalism in the South: What Alternatives?” IDS Bulletin: Reclaiming Feminism: Gender and Neoliberalism 39:6.
Aidoo, Ama A. (1965): The Dilemma of a Ghost. Harlow: Longman.
_____________ (1970): Anowa. Harlow: Longman.
_____________(1970): No Sweetness Here. Harlow: Longman.
___________(1992): An Angry Letter in January and Other Poems. Coventry: Dangaroo P.
__________ (1977): Our Sister Killjoy. Harlow: Longman
Babatunde Joshua O. ‘’African Union and Gender Equality in The Last Len Years’’: Some Issues and Prospects For Consideration; Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 2015 - 5(1): 92-104
Darko A. ( 2003). Faceless. Sub-saharan Publishers, Accra
Delmar, R. (1986). ‘’What is Feminism?’’In Mitchell, J. & Oakley, A. (eds.) What is Feminism? New York: Pantheon Books, pp. 8-83.
Delmar, R. (1994). ‘’What is feminism?’’In A.C. Herrmann & A. J. Stewart (eds.), Theorizing feminism (pp. 5-25). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Frías M.(2003), An Interview with Ama Ata Aidoo: “I Learnt my First Feminist Lessons in Africa” (note 1): Revista Estudios Ingleses 16 (ISSN 0214-4808
Kehinde A.(2006) ‘’patriarchal suppression and neurosis: African women’s plight in J. M. Coetzee’s ‘in the heart of the Country’’; African Study Monographs, 27(4): 169-185, December
Mensah A.N.( 2012). Introduction of Literature.ENB471.IEDE,Winneba
Mikell, G. (1997). “Introduction”, in Mikell, G. ed. African Feminism’’: The Politics of Survival in Sub-Saharan Africa. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
Nmolin, C. (1994): “The House Divided: Feminism in African Literature”.In Helen Chukwuma, ed. Feminism in African Literature. Enugu: New Generation Books, [n.p.].
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Journal of English Language and Literature
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
