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Motherhood In African Literature And Culture

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Motherhood is often defined as an automatic set of feelings and behaviors that is switched on by pregnancy and the birth of the baby, it is also seen as moral transformation whereby a woman comes to terms with being different in that she ceases to be an autonomous individual because she is one way or the other attached to another her baby.( Motherhood in African Literature and Culture." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 13.1 (2011): The identity of a woman is formed in relation to the values, meanings and symbols of her society. Her ‘self ‘is affected by the cultural world outside. The meanings and values of the cultural society are internalised.The ideology of motherhood differs according to the socio-cultural context, ethnicity, …show more content…

The treatment of women has also differed from civilization to civilization even at the same period in history. Some societies such as Islamic ones have treated women much like property, while others like ancient Egypt have allowed women to have great influence and power. Walter, T. 2009. Motherhood in African society: 26, 2 Mar .Motherhood in African society undertakes different names and shapes on the society, a woman without a child is viewed as a waste to herself, her husband and to the society as a whole, this holds true for most women in Africa where the index of motherhood is used to define “real” women or responsible woman. Although factual principles are rooted and valorized in all cultures, male societies present woman’s central purpose to be her reproductive function and so motherhood and mothering become tangled with issues of a woman’s identity, no matter the skills therefore there powers, rights and entitlements that come with motherhood even in the act of giving

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