Feminism In African Literature

African literature differs largely from French, Russian and English literature. Africa is a massive continent consisting of fifty one countries which has been subjected to colonial influences by English, French, Portuguese, German, Dutch and by numerous other colonizers and invaders. Each of them has left their indelible influences on those parts of Africa which they occupied. Nevertheless, Africa as a country has not lost its rich traditions like the oral literature which has maintained its texture and continues to this present day. This oral literature takes the form of poems, stories, legends, proverbs, riddles, dramas, folktales and songs. Literature written in Africa can be traced back at least to the eighteenth century. These fictions

Black Feminism focuses on the experiences, needs and desires of the women of colour (Aldridge 193). In establishing why Black Feminism is relevant, it must be recognized that women of colour have been thrice victimized: by racism, sexism and economic exploitation. These three oppressive forces affect women of colour simultaneously and relentlessly (Gordon 166). The goal of Black Feminism is to create a criterion by which women of colour can assess their realities, both in thought and action (Hudson-Weems 210). Filomina Chioma Steady has clearly defined and distinguished African Feminism from other feminist ideologies this way. “African feminism combines racial, sexual, class and cultural dimensions of oppression to produce a more inclusive brand of feminism through which women are viewed first and foremost as humans rather than sexual beings. It can be defined as an ideology which encompasses freedom from oppression based on the political, economic, social and cultural manifestations of racial, cultural, sexual and class biases. It is more inclusive than other forms of feminist ideologies” (4). As such, African feminism is not an individualistic ideology but one that stresses “parallel autonomy, communialism and cooperation for the preservation of life” (8). Helen Chukwuma specifically contends that African feminism is dedicated and informed from within, from social realities that are obtained. One such reality is the persistence of sexist socio-psychological paradigm despite the efforts to overcome “the androcentrism which informs social life” (Uko 33). The persistent sexism in Africa is, however, matched with women’s continued aggressive demand for equal places in men’s former citadel of power and privilege. The chorus that African women say to men is “whatever the case