African Feminism In Selected Contemporary African Novels In English A Comparative Approach

The main aim of this research is to examine representation of women‘s issues in contemporaryrnAfrican Anglophone novels (published from 2000-2016) because such novels are not studiedrncomparatively and comprehensively from African feminist perspectives. To this end, eight novelsrnsuch as: Kintu (2014), Hiding in Plain Sight (2014), Ancestor Stones (2006), Season of CrimsonrnBlossoms (2016), Coconut (2008), The Hairdresser of Harare (2010), Minaret (2005) and ThernYacoubian Building (2004) are selected and analyzed based on African feminist theoreticalrnframework. The result of the analyses shows that all the studied novels attempt to correct thernmisrepresentation of identities, experiences and burdens of African women by colonialism, neocolonialismrnrnand Western feminism and call for inclusion of women‘s experiences and roles inrnpost-colonial discourses. Particularly, two female-authored novels, Kintu and Ancestor Stones, gornback to delineate the pre-colonial cultural history of their respective nation in comparison with thernpost-colonial contexts of their respective societies‘ view of women‘s roles and experiences;rnwhereas the rest focus on contemporary issues of women in their particular societies or nations.rnMost of the examined novels reinforce African feminists‘ argument, which states that Africanrnwomen‘s movement for liberation should be based on African indigenous knowledge and culture,rnand through which they disclose and challenge various roots of women‘s suppression. All thernnovels share themes such as recognizing and transforming the notion of motherhood; decolonizingrnAfrican women‘s culture and identity (except Minaret); maintaining a cooperative relationshiprnbetween men and women through negotiation and compromise with the assumption of binaryrncomplementarity of male and female rather than binary oppositions. Although there are few weakrnand submissive women characters that agree with both patriarchal and colonial/neo-colonialrnoppression, many of the women characters in each of the above-studied novels are depicted asrnstrong and progressive. These female characters endeavor to bring socio-cultural transformationrnby confronting poverty, post-colonial mal-governance systems and related amoralities withrnrecognition of the significance of proper education for empowerment of women and theirrnrespective societies.

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