Isa Sanusi
5 November 2003
opinion
Feminism is a sensitive niche in the literatures of all nations. At a point one would have to be cautious to avoid being tagged a male chauvinist or even a feminine apologist. All these aside, feminism is vibrant especially with the evolutions that brought the status of women into focus and scrutiny.
Those saying they are human rights champions were going about their affairs with the notion that women in Hausa society are the sorriest lot. With this gimmick they have been pushing some feminists to the extreme alternative. Feminism (extreme) nearly set Bangladesh on fire in 1994 when the writer, Taslima Nasrin made extremely careless feministic statements those scholars judged as blasphemous. The Egyptian, Nawal Sa'adawi is a feminist writer who saw herself through troubles for her extreme feministic writings.
Feminism is as old as literature itself. Feminist writers like Virginia Woolf, Elaine Showalter and Patricia Meyer Specks touched almost the same concerns that dominated the thematic preoccupation of Flora Nwapa, Mariama Ba, Buchi Emecheta, Nawal Sa'adawi, Zaynab Alkali, Balaraba Ramat Yakubu, as well as Bilkisu Salisu Funtua. Feminism is relatively an extension of a literary movement pioneered by Mary Wollstonecraft who in "A vindication of the Rights of Women" pointed out the need for equal opportunities for both men and women in every society. Centuries ago Sarah M. Gimke argued incisively in her "Letters on the Equality of sexes and the condition of women," pointing accusing fingers at religious leaders for justifying the divine basis of inferiority of women. Feminism is a universal urge that only changes focus and strategy over time. Feminist writers stood their ground that women were subjected to subjugation by man-made systems. They see themselves as being potentially denied the right to go beyond the paradigm of mothers and wives only. They pursued their "ism" largely and more effectively through imaginative literature to call for a change in the status and roles of women in their societies.
Feminism had most of the times missed the point in the wrong choice of medium. Marrying real with the ideal would have been more beneficial for feminism. Flora Nwapa used the wrong channel when she instructed Amaka in "One is Enough" to go to Lagos and become a shame to herself and her folk. However, Balaraba Ramat Yakubu rightly instructed Zainabu Abu in her "Wa Zai Auri Jahila?" (Who will marry the ignorant woman?) To go back to school and acquire knowledge after escaping Sarki's bondage. The goat that Amadu (her former prospective husband) return-s to her inspite of being a 'bazawara,' indicates an enduring way to the success of feminism deals.
No true religious faith ever subjected women to dehumanization and no good culture recommends it. Fem-ales are also human beings like males. However, physical and natural differences are a bold reality that no amount of feminizing can neutralize. Zaynab Alkali is a feminist with difference. In her "The stillborn" the central character, Li, who revives the family, symbolizes an apt application of feminism within the framework of the natural abilities of a woman.
Some extreme feminist writers often cripple their cause by using plots that go wholly contrary to reality. Nawal Sa'adawi in her "Women at Point Zero" directed the character Firdaus to prostitution as an outlet and a solution to her search for identity. Zaynab Alkali, contrastingly, took Li back home to reorganize her family as the alternative to her misery and a means to self-fulfillment.
A critical review of Hausa feminist literature showcases an antithesis towards denial of education to women, which is still prevalent in Hausa societies. The intellectual and literary attainments of Nana Asma'u, the daughter of Shehu Usmanu Dan Fodiyo, exhibits the contradiction between Islamic teachings and Hausa tradition in relation to women and education. This leaves a challenge at the doorsteps of Hausa writers. Hausa writers, especially the feminists must face, head-on, the challenge of exposing the right place of women in conformity with Islamic teachings and the true tradition of Hausa society. Of course, this is what Chinua Achebe called, "universal human communication across racial and cultural boundaries as a means of fostering respect for all people."
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