Culture and Discrimination against Women in Buchi Emecheta The Joys Of Motherhood
Culture and Discrimination against Women in Buchi Emecheta The Joys Of Motherhood
Abstract
This study explores culture and discrimination against women in Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood. The study has shown that over the years, the major challenges facing the female folks are discrimination and unfair treatment in the society. It is also discovered that several cultural practices discriminates and oppresses the female folks. Such practices are identified in the selected text for this research work and critically examined. The researcher uses radical Feminism to show that women should be treated equally as men and that gender differences is no excuse for discrimination.
This research work aim at bringing out how cultural practices affect women, the pain it brings and the survival of women .Therefore, it is hoped that an awareness of such practices will eventually be eradicates, the social inequalities that are engendered by such practices in African Society. Finally, the study recommends that the study of literature should be made compulsory to secondary school scholars because literature gives the learners insight into realities of life and helps improve the moral etiquette of the students against corrupt practices and other social ills and vices.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Throughout history, women generally have had fewer legal rights and career opportunities than men have. Wifehood and womanhood were considered as women’s most significant professions, and they are long considered naturally weaker than men are. Their rights and being are taken for granted. Silence becomes the virtue of women but with education, the silence is broken. Chambers 21st. century dictionary says:
Culture is the custom, ideas, values of a particular civilization, society or social group, especially at a particular time, and the appreciation of art, music, literature, improvement and development through care and training. (P.327)
Reuters .T. reports that; “Discrimination is to distinguish, single out, or make a distinction in everyday life, when faced with more than one option.” For the purpose of this research, the definition of women in chambers 21st century dictionary is used “women generally: the female sex.” (1631) Wikipedia assert that, “discrimination against women is the attitude and beliefs in relation to the female gender that they are less important, such beliefs and attitudes are of social nature and do not normally carry any legal consequences.”
With these definitions, we can therefore define culture and discrimination against women as the cultural practices against the female folks that support men. Discrimination against women has become customs passed from generations to generations. In African, many cultural practices are against women. Women are beaten by husbands and are always blamed for not being able to produce children. Even when it is not confirmed that they are responsible for the marital problems, they suffer for those problems. Married woman could be replaced at anytime by their husbands because culture supports that men could marry many women.
Female children are not always given the best upbringing; they are trained in the kitchen, instead of school. Male children are brought up well because they are known to be the people who will take their family from generations to generation. Therefore, with the use of Buchi Emecheta’s work, The Joys of Motherhood, many discriminatory acts against woman will be analyzed; to signify the cultural practices discriminating against women. Also, through the work, discrimination against women will be identified. Cultural practices discriminating against women have been on for long and needs to stop.
Culture and Discrimination against Women in Buchi Emecheta The Joys Of Motherhood
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The level of injustice and negative portrayal of female discrimination in the African society and African literary work have lead to a clash between male and female writers
There is also a problem of literary representation of female characters as “second class citizens” who are mostly being denied of their individual and naturally rights.
Equally, in African literary work, female characters are mostly victims of discrimination as an appendage to male characters. Therefore, this research work seeks to investigate the manner in which female children are discriminated in African society as a result of culture.
1.3 Purpose of Study
The study intends to examine culture and discrimination against women, using carefully selected novel as primary data, Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood. Using radical Feminism to show that women should be treated equally as men and that gender differences is no excuse for discrimination. This research work aim at bringing out how cultural practices affect women, the pain it brings and the survival of women.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This study is significant in the following ways;
- it reveals some cultural practices that affect the women
- the study reveals the root cause of this cultural practices
iii. the study also helps to correct the negative portrayal of women as second class citizen in African literature .
- Equally, this work helps to bring libration to women in African societies.
- it will also helps to boost love and unity among men and women and possibly put an end to the clash between men and women
1.5 Research Methodology
This research work intends to carry out an investigation on culture and discrimination against women, through the proper analysis in two carefully selected novels Buchi Emecheta: The Joys of Motherhood. In analyzing these books, radical feminism will be used.
Finally, the researcher will use the two novels as primary source of information, while sources like internet will be used for more collection of data.
1.6 Objectives of the Study
- The objective of this research work is to specifically ascertain why women are being discriminated in African society using Buchi Emecheta: The Joys of Motherhood
- To examine and investigate how culture affects women in African fiction.
- To also examine the effect of culture and discrimination against women.
1.7 Scope and Limitation
The researcher finds it difficult to bring out so many cultural practices discriminating against women, as a result of limited time coupled with financial constrain available for the study.
As such, this work will analyze culture and discrimination against women only in two selected novels. The research will also limit its scope on some materials from the library, internet and the two selected novels: Buchi Emecheta: The Joys of Motherhood.
1.8 Bio-Data of Buchi Emecheta
Buchi Emecheta, the author of The Joys of Motherhood, was born in 1944 of Ibuza parentage but brought up in Lagos. In 1982 she became a graduate of sociology from the London University before coming to University of Calabar, where she was appointed a senior research fellow in the department of English and literary studies. Buchi won the 1978 Rock Campbell award. Her novels have so much impact that she was described by Sunday times journalist as ’a natural born water’ when she published Second-class Citizen.
Culture and Discrimination against Women in Buchi Emecheta The Joys Of Motherhood
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Summary
In the course of this research work, an attempt was made to identify culture and discrimination against women. The first chapter is the general introduction, which features, scope and limitations, research problem and research methodology. The second chapter, which is the literature review, focuses scholar’s views of culture and discrimination against women. The third chapter discusses one of the two selected African novels: Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood.
The researcher identifies through this text various cultural practices like preference of male over female children’ polygamous practices maltreatment of wives by husbands, marriage and bride price, female sacrifice and widowhood practices. The researcher also Identifying discrimination against women, violence against women, women, maltreatment of women by men and polygamous practices. The researcher has also identified the effects of child upbringing, parenting and discrimination on children. It also discusses survival of without men.
Chapter four, the researcher went further identify the characters in the novel, Language and Style, Narrative Technique in the Novel such as; Irony Parallelism, Symbolism, Tone and Mood. The last chapter, which is chapter five summaries, presents the research the summary, findings and concludes the whole work. The cultural beliefs about motherhood make women desperate to fulfill the qualities of being a mother. Women are seen as failure when they fail to meet the demands of motherhood. This feeling of failure puts women through emotional and psychological pains.
It is found also that women can survive without men. Women maltreated are scared to leave their husbands because, they are afraid they will not survive without them. Some women struggle to survive without help from men. It shows that men are dispensable and that sometimes women are better off without men.
5.2 Conclusion
Judging from the analysis of the two selected novels, it could be concluded that culture and discrimination against women are those cultural practices that favours men and bring harm to the female folks because they are seen as inferior to men. Buchi Emecheta depict the marginalization and oppression in patriarchy society.
This researcher succeeds in identifying and explaining the cultural practices discriminating against women in Buchi Emeheta’s the Joys of Motherhood: a text that has serious cultural issues that cause pain, maltreatment and discrimination against women. Practices that should cause unity among people causes division among them because women are seen as inferior to men.
The researcher also identifies discrimination against women describing the serious pain and maltreatment of women by men. African society sees women as inferior to men, this causes several maltreatments. Women should not be treated less important, women deserve the same human rights as men. This also applies to children, if a female child can be treated specially by going to school, female children should also go to school, a statement says “Educate a man, you educate one person but educate a women you educate a nation”.
5.3 Recommendations
The researcher recommends that, the cultural belief that male children are superior to female children, should be abolished. Male and female children should be treated equally. Secondly, there should be equal educational opportunities for both male and female children, since it is the belief in many cultural setting that children should generally take care of their parents when they become adults.
It seems a wise thing to use education to put all children, male and female, in a position to be able to do this properly. From our study, as mentioned above, the women that are usually not sent to school end up becoming more useful than the male children upon whom parents lavish their life-time saving. It seems reasonable to suggest therefore, that there is no need to value one sex above the other. Thus, the practice of underrating and under-valuing female children while male children are over-valued, turning them into spoilt brats should be jettisoned from any civilized society.
Female children should not be seen as commodities to be sold out to earn money. From our study, it is discovered that females are pushed into early marriages because of pride price. The researcher recommends that, females who are not yet mature for marriage should not be pushed into marriages. Also the demands of bride price by parents should not be too high. Bride price should not be used to boost family’s finances. The Yoruba’s custom of ceremonial pride price which is usually returned to the groom’s family during the marriage ceremony should be copies by all Africa societies since it foresters love, not just between the couple, but the two families.
Another bad cultural practice to be abolished is female sacrifice. Females’ lives should not be wasted for any reason. Any cultural practice that involves killing of humans especially females should be stopped. Also from our study, it is discovered that widows are made to go through, several rituals that initiate them into widowhood. Those practices affecting widows should also be abolished, widows should be allowed to mourn their husbands freely, without any interference from any tradition.
