The Situation of the Woman in a Patriarchal African Society: A Study of Nawal El Saadawi’s God Dies by the Nile and Woman at Point Zero
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Date
2010-06-13
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Abstract
A critical review of the existing literature on Africa clearly shows that women occupy an inferior position in society. Having a voice in society is often something that women in the Western world take for granted. However, in many African countries, especially the Islamic ones, the majority of women remain silent. First World Feminists have contended that while it is true that colonial history has taken advantage of African traditions to locate the place of women in a subservient position, it is also true that the trend has not changed even after independence. As a result of this, the transfer of power to national elites merely ensured the continuation of colonial structures benefiting the male national elite. Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian writer, believes however that even though women occupy an inferior position in traditional society, Islamic societies manipulate the precepts of Islam in order to oppress and restrict women. Further, she seeks to highlight the deeply rooted teachings of equality in the Quran and encourage a questioning of the patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teaching based on the Quran, hadith (sayings of Muhammed), and sharia. (law) She does this with the aim of creating a more equal and just society. The study found that even though women occupy an inferior position in traditional society, Islamic societies manipulate the precepts of Islam in order to oppress and restrict women. Besides, the study concluded that patriarchy, a cultural constraint in God Dies by the Nile and Woman at Point Zero emerges as a system with political, economic, social, cultural, and psychological manifestations bound together by underlying class dynamics.
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A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in English, May-2010