1. THE AFRICAN LITERATURE
• Women’s experience of livelihood in
Patriarchal Culture
• Nanditaba Chudasama
• Semester-4
• Enrollment no: 3069206420200006
• Batch no : 2020-2022
• Roll no : 14
• S.B Gardi Department of English
Bhavnagar University
2. Nnu Ego ,she was a prisoner, imprisoned by her love
for her children, imprisoned by her role as the senior
wife. She was not even expected to demand more
money for her family; that was considered below the
standard expected of a woman in her position. It was
not fair, she felt, the way men cleverly used a
woman’s sense of responsibility to actually enslave
her. They knew that the traditional wife like herself
Florence Onyebuchi "Buchi" Emecheta OBE (21
July 1944 – 25 January 2017) was a Nigerian-born
novelist, based in the UK from 1962, who also wrote
plays and an autobiography, as well as works for
children. She was the author of more than 20
books, including Second Class Citizen (1974), The
Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977) and The
Joys of Motherhood (1979).
Introduction
3. Despite numerous campaigns and popular slogans over
the years, the fondness for sons remains strong among
Indian parents. Many of them continue to see boys as an
investment and girls a liability. The preference for male
children among Indian families has resulted in about 63
million women statistically "missing" from the country's
population,
This obsession with sons has led Indians to resort
to female feticide on a massive scale. They also provide
better nutrition and medical care for boys than girls, and
indulge in a host of other practices that discriminate
against girls. Even in this day and age, families openly
celebrate the birth of a son, while the birth of a daughter
is not always greeted in the same manner.
Existence of Women
4. A plethora of social, cultural and economic factors contribute to this trend. A
boy is widely viewed as an asset; a future breadwinner and caregiver who will
look after his parents when they become old. A girl, on the other hand, is seen
as a liability, as parents are often pressured to pay dowries when their daughters
marry.
Also, in India's patriarchal society, it is considered the "pious obligation" of a "son" to
take care of his parents, but no such expectation is placed upon daughters. After
marriage, a daughter is usually regarded as part of her husband's household and is
generally expected to take care of her in-laws, but not her parents.
"The economics here is pretty straightforward. It's the culture that's to be blamed. The
system as it stands today rewards the birth of a son, while penalizing the birth of a
daughter,“
- S. Rajan, a demographic expert
Girls are unwanted, males only?
5. 📍government's campaigns smack of "sexism" and "patriarchy.“
📍"States like Haryana which fete themselves on politically-inspired
slogans like 'Beti Bacchao, Beti Padhao' (save the daughter, educate the
daughter) need to think twice, especially when the girl is covered in a
veil. Is that not a sign of subjugation and oppression?
🎬 It's a Girl: The Three Deadliest Words in the World is
a 2012 documentary film which explores the practice
of female infanticide. It was directed by Evan Grae
Davis and focused primarily on India and China.The
United Nations has estimated that up to 200 million
females are "missing" today, most of whom would
have lived in India and China.
6. Where do we Stand !!!
The woman in this picture has just related to a
film crew how she killed her newborn daughter
by strangulation. She killed eight of her newborn
daughters, in fact, and can lead you to the tree-
shaded plot of ground where she has buried all
of them. The earth is rich there, rounded and
fertile. The mound where the infants lie rises
over them in a gentle slope, like the swell of
mother-flesh.
This woman is not unusual in her Indian village.
She and her neighbors explain through a
strange kind of laughter the myriad ways that
they have dispatched their female children. One
of the most common is to dampen a piece of
cloth large enough to swaddle the child in then
lay the wet fabric over the baby’s face, so that
she can’t breathe. Other options are to expose
the child to the elements or to place her in a box
near the river and walk away.
Not only are these practices common in India,
they’re common throughout many countries and
across many cultures.
7. Whom do we blame?
Being maimed, burnt, killed in the name of religion is not history. The apparent
'progressive' world we live in still practises some horrific brutal rituals, which in
spite of being banned by governments worldwide see a large number of
participants even today.
This ritual with both, a religious as well as a cultural background is the most brutal
practice that exists even today.
📍What is done: Partial or total removal of the external female genitalia using a
rasor of a blade, with or more often without the use of anesthesia.
📍Where is it practised: Practised in around 27 countries in the sub-Saharan and
North-east Africa and a few asian countries including India among the Bohra
community.
📍Why is it done: This ritual which is done in the name of controlling a
woman's sexuality, is seen as an essential part of raising their daughters
properly, in a way preparing her for adulthood and marriage.
8. Way ahead
Against this backdrop, it seems an uphill task for reform-minded politicians
and activists in India to bring about a change in mindset and social values that
are desperately needed to tackle the problem of "missing" girls and women in
India.
These girls are being murdered at every stage of life, and those who
survive are being subjected to every form of indignity. However
tragic the poverty that motivates such a thing, the fact remains. To
deny it, to be too uncomfortable to look at it, to be too embarrassed
to see it, is to be complicit in it.
There is no problem so great that this kind of barbarism can be the
solution, and the salvation of these lives must become a priority for
any people who dare call themselves civilized. Otherwise, as Mother
Teresa said,
“The true poverty becomes our own: that any child must die in
9. References
📌Harmon, A G. The Three Deadliest Words
in the World: It’s a Girl, 18 Oct. 2012.
📌Josephine , John. “Brutal Religious and Cultural
Practices That Exist Even Today.” Dnaindia, 28
June 2014.
📌Deutsche Welle. “Why Many Indians Prefer
Sons over Daughters”. DW: 31 Jan 2018.
