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cultural differences between Africa and Europe especially where women are
concerned dawns before Nyasha.
Dangarembga portrays the plight of African woman through the eyes of Tambu
and Nyasha in a dominating culture of patriarchy. The woman freedom is
curtailed, and Nyasha has despite her efforts to study hard, her lateness to be
home comes in question by her parents who have experienced different cultures.
Interdependence is another factor that has created or perhaps is to blame for
the gender inequality in the patriarchal society. Dangarembga presents a
situation in which the women are entrapped economically and thus have to
depend on men to survive. Tambus mother is among the entrapped, bound by
straps of social stratification and culture as a result of colonialism and so is Aunt
Maiguru who depends on Babamukuru for money.
Tambus mother has to depend on her farm and husband which point to her
poverty. She only sees her son as the only hope to break her vicious cycles of
poverty. As per the societys stereotype constructs Tambus mother does not
believe Tambus education would help that much. Even the educated women like
Maiguru are entrapped due to the inequalities of gender. Maiguru does not have
the status of her education as she is subjected to demands of men in her
community and those of her husband, ingrained in the culture.
The strive to break interdependence is the right way of women ending the
gender inequality. So far in the novel Tambu, Nyasha, Lucia and later Maiguru
are on the path to break the chains of demeaning culture and uplift the place of
woman in the male-dominated society.
To sum up, insights in gender inequalities are highlighted by Dangarembga and
what emerges very clearly is that the cultural stereotype constructs are to blame
for the injustices on girls and women in contemporary society. Dangarembga
succeeds in bringing out the theme of gender inequality through her vivid plot
development and characterization in colonial and patriarchy setting. It is
therefore doubtless that women in Africa and also around the world should not
only liberate themselves from cultural entrapment but also systems that tend to
dwarf their equality.
A radical feminist literary approach was taken when reading this novel. Radical
Feminism was at its strongest during the years 1965- 1975 during the second
wave of feminism; this was also during the years that our story is set in the
novel. Radical feminism aims to highlight the hypothesis of male dominance and
patriarchy as a means of power that categorizes society into a range of
relationships in order to assert control. As Ellen Willis states [patriarchy is] not
only the oldest and most universal form of dominance but the primary form.
(Willis, 1984) Radical feminists strive to prove that the direct cause of
oppression of women is patriarchy in gender relations, as opposed to the legal
systems as in liberal feminism or class conflict as in socialist feminism and
Marxist feminism. However, it is no longer as commonly referred to as it was in
the past because many sub-theories have branched from it. I chose to explore
this movement and use it as a point of departure for my research because I feel
that at the time, being an author interested in womens struggles, Tsitsi
Dangarembga would have been aware of the womanist movement and the
advances it was taking towards the emancipation of women throughout the
world. This movement arose from the civil rights and peace movement in 19671968. The reason this theory is deemed radical is that it views the oppression of
women as the single most important form of oppression, one that ignores the
boarders of race, culture and economic class. This movements main goal was
the struggle towards social change on a world wide scale. Furthermore, radical
feminism is focused on the questioning of gender roles. This is why past and
current gender politics can be identified with radical feminism. The movement
questions why people must adopt certain roles based on their biological form, it
questioned why society encouraged certain gender roles on both genders.
Radical feminism also attempts to differentiate between biologically determined
behaviour and culturally determined behaviour in order to allow men and women
the freedom that their previous roles hindered. Popular authors within Radical
feminism are both Anne Koedt with her book simply titled Radical Feminism, and
Alice Echols with her book; Daring to be Bad and this is still referred to by
scholars as the go to book of radical feminist literature to date. She states;
and just as the end goal of socialist revolution was not the elimination of the
economic class privilege but of the economic class distinction of itself, so the end
goal of feminist revolution must be, unlike that of the first feminist movement,
not just the elimination of male privilege but of the sex distinction itself: genital
differences between human beings would no longer matter culturally. (Echols,
1989, p. 163) As seen in the novel Nervous Conditions, radical feminists suggest
that due to patriarchy, women have been come to be known as the other
gender group in contrast to the male norm, and they suggest that all men
benefit from the oppression of women. This school of feminist thought can be
said to follow the exact assumptions made by Dangarembga in her illustrations
and portrayal of the struggles these fictional women face in their community and
how they strive to overcome adversity.
Furthermore, the issues that arose in the context of the story line can be related
directly to problems facing women in Africa, both in the past and to this day. I
believe that Dangarembga assesses relevant problems that, speaking from an
African womens point of view, make her a reliable source of information. As a
scholar of both theology and Gender Studies I am aware of the risks of speaking
on behalf of others and this is why I have decided to review the works of a much
respected African woman author. According to Linda Martin Alcoff, an American
philosopher that specializes in feminism, race theory and existentialism, there is
growing concern in the harm involved in speaking on behalf of others.
NAME
JERUSHA NAIDOO
STUDENT NUMBER:
MODULE CODE:
51458144
ENG2603
ASSIGNMENT TOPIC:
I declare that this assignment is my own original work. Where secondary material has
been used (either from a printed source or from the internet), this has been carefully
acknowledged and referenced in accordance with departmental requirements. I
understand what plagiarism is and am aware of the departments policy in this regard. I
have not allowed anyone else to borrow or copy my work
SIGNED
DATE: 13/08/15