Abstract:
The objective of this study is to examine Gender activism and feminist reconstruction and development in selected works of Irene Salami-Agunloye. This is based on the premise that gender inequality, oppression, suppression, and discrimination have thrived in Nigeria, over the years, and helped to relegate women domestically, socially, economically and politically. The study is thus aimed at examining Emotan and The Queen Sisters to discover the existent of gender issues in Nigeria and determine the feminist perspective espoused by the playwright. The theoretical framework used is the Afro Feminisms model of feminism while culture is used as an interacting medium between theory and analysis. The main findings in this study are three: the texts studied present the two heroines (the authorial voice) as an image of the woman that the Afro Feminisms concept of feminism expects. This image is different from the romantic and idealistic portrayals of women in earlier Nigerian texts by women. The aim of the playwright’s concept of feminism is the obliteration of the culture-bound structures set up by the macho-male to oppress the women, and the willy-nilly acceptance of same by the female folks. The third one is that Salami-Agunloye in the studied texts goes beyond the women-centred feminist issues of gender, to engage social consciousness and interrogate socio-economic and political development in the country. The study concludes that, there is the need for a balance between extreme feminist and extreme traditional views; feminist visions should be pursued through compromise, negotiation and partnership, rather than pressure and force.
Keywords: Gender, Activism, Feminism, Reconstruction & Development
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author/Alabi, Adebola Timothy
journal/Zamfara IJOH Vol. 1 Issue 1 & 2
pdf-https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OKETKyMJ_rwXRimvTG8zvPsO7qk8g4zV/view?usp=share_link
paper-https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OKETKyMJ_rwXRimvTG8zvPsO7qk8g4zV/view?usp=share_link
