FACULTE DE LETTRE LANGUE ET ART (FLLA)

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Semester V

ANG 312 Class presentation

CHAPTER 7
Denunciation of Men as Decision-Makers and Takers
Introduction
At the beginning ,in every society whether in Africa ,Europe or everywhere else,
women were said to be submissive and humble therefore limited to a reproductive
role.However,with the rise of feminist Ideas which enlighten men’s boundaries and
depict harmoniously the victimized women’s competences. Errors in the traditional
beliefs and practices have also been illuminated and denounced. This work aims to
summarize chp7 and give some themes and topics.

Summary
Literary works demonstrate how women were dominated. They judged it unjust to
favor men to the detriment of women. In African societies, women were assigned
only duties whereas men were decision-makers and takers. Giving a supreme power
to men over women such as in pre colonial Igbo society and in other African
societies without measuring the negative aspect this can have was a mistake African
ancestors made when considering the organization of African society. In this case,
worries were brought into African Feminist which led them to protest against this
privilege given to a particular group in the society based on gender. To enlighten
their stance, the exclusion of women from their own betrothal ceremonies was taken
as an exemple. This shows that women were really marginalized in society.
With regard to all these treatments given to women, some female feathers were not
left out such as Buchi Emecheta, one who denounces men's position over women
through various literary works. She believes in the individuality of everyone and says
men and women must be given the same opportunities to act in freedom and dignity.
Her objective was to avoid any narrow and short-sighted women.
Emecheta sounds an alarm by calling her fellow women to speak for themselves,
laying emphasis on growth and self -reliance as she showed it in one of her novels,
Second Class Citizen.

Some themes
- Man’s authority
- Women submission
- Women’s place in the society
- Misconception
- Ideological conflict
- Women in literature
- Marital conditions

Topics
- Do women have a place in literature?
- Are Feminist ideas really welcomed in our society?
- How do you think Feminist marital arena should be?
- Is the submission of women natural or lawful?
- Is man authority natural or a pure invention of mankind?
- Do we accept that no society is perfect?
Discussion Topic
Do women have a place in literature?

Women had been subjugated in traditional societies. They were disdained

and reduced to properties in some African societies. Therefore they were forbidden
in active participation in any societal and psychological development. This work aims
to show women’s situation in literature.

A long time ago women were denied school because they were considered as
made for marriage and laboring or made for house. However that restriction imposed
on them has proved his ineptitude through centuries. They were no better than
goods in our traditional society. Therefore they were beaten, maltreated, and even
subjugated to any kind of violence. This can be seen in the Umuofia community
depicted by Chinua Achebe where Okonkwo the main Character proved his power
and manliness over his wives through beating them any time he wanted. And then
forbid them from arguing and suggesting any kind of idea. Furthermore, education,
which is the only way (means) to correct the wrong perception of things, women
were not allowed to attend too. Nonetheless those who have the chance to reach
school have noticed their competency and remark that they have been cheated,
urged, fought, and created their movement who sets against man's authority as
decision takers and makers whereby Feminist will take the floor and declare their
antagonism.
According to Buchi Emecheta who declares : ‘’I use the voice of women to talk about
corruption and the inadequacies of so many things because women have been
silenced for so long.’’ Through this declaration, we understand better why she
always uses women as protagonists in her books. Nowadays, female writers are
rising around the world but it is still insufficient. Therefore, we can presume that it is
because men started writing when no woman has ever dreamed about it. In the
same way it is quite obvious that women are unstoppable if only they are determined
to compete with men. This alludes obviously to why Buchi Emecheta published
twelve novels in ten years, even more than some men.

To put it in nutshell, we see through this work that women have been ignored
and marginalized. Therefore excluded from any emancipation field. To boil it down
women must be encouraged, equipped and see through their career to compensate
(indemnify) the cruelty they have gone through and suffered.