Most of the works conducted on her literary writings were on women oppression and their struggle to emancipate themselves. Zaynab alkali s belongs to the group of african feminist writer that fervently decry the condition of women. An appraisal of the stillborn and the virtuous woman. A womanist reading on zaynab alkali s the stillborn dr. Other writers like zaynab alkali in the stillborn, portrayed women as independent achievers irrespective of their environment and harsh treatments from the men in their lives. The masculine is regarded as the very type of humanity and woman is seen as relative to man. Analysis of zaynab alkali s novels, examines the attempts by alkali s female characters to extricate themselves from patriarchal holds through metaphoric analysis of the foot as a means by which the female characters walk out of bondage imposed upon them by society p. Alkali is a prominent nigerian female writer, whose concern is always the place of a girlchild in a patriarchal african. Presentation mode open print download current view. What is main theme of the literary book the stillborn by. The heroine ofzaynab alkalis debut novel, the stillborn, set in northern nigeria, is li. She is the author of the stillborn 1984, the virtuous woman 1986 and the cobwebs 1989. It is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, defending and the intention of establishing a state of equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women in education and employment. Zaynab alkali, why she writes and, each time, she gave them a different.
Reading on zaynab alkali s the stillborn 15 language in india. All the pdf past questions also have the answers for every question. The two major pervasive sources of social problems in the community of the stillborn are a ignorance and poverty. Download jamb past questions and answers in pdf format. A radical feminist approach to the works of zaynab alkali.
Zaynab alkali in the stillborn highlights the life of women of hausa tribe that were in constant fear, anxiety and nervousness due to stifling local social system. The purpose of the present paper is to defamiliarize spivaks subaltern as a female subject within the context of the nigerian culture in zaynab alkali s the stillborn. I was once a very bad speaker zaynab alkali punch newspapers. In this paper therefore, we have undertaken an appraisal of zainab alkali s the stillborn and the virtuous woman to buttress our position that the issues in her novels transcend gender imbalance. The objective of the study are to discuss exhaustively the thematic concerns in zaynab alkali s collection of short stories i. It tells of a young womans experiences in the recurring conflict between traditional and modern values in africa today, reflecting the authors belief that women should strive to fulfil their. Feminist aesthetic in zaynab alkali s the stillborn and the virtuous woman with abstract, chapters 15, references and questionnaire. A practical guide to writing fiction explains character, plot. A man never begins by presenting himself as an individual of a certain sex, but a woman has to define herself as a woman from start. Feminist aesthetic in zaynab alkali s the stillborn and the virtuous woman abstract the study has examined the extent of the marginalization of the african woman in a sexist society which relegates womanhood to gender roles. Each chapter is named after the woman whose transformation it explores and the chapters are organised in a chronological sequence, that is, in the order that the writers of the texts were first published as authors of african literature, rather than according to the publication date of the. The stillborn by zaynab alkali considered a milestone in african literature. The novel was quickly followed by the virtuous woman which was published by longman, nigeria in 1987.
More often than not, women are portrayed as the stabilizing force in mens life, a fact that only began to rear up its head when women began to tell their own stories. For instance, in an article by okereke 1996 entitled, womens quest for autonomy in zaynab alkali s the stillborn. In 1984 when her first novel the stillborn came out, while the world was still gripped with euphoria, these wetblanket critics capitalized on trivial issue such as the length of the novel. A reading of zaynab alkalis the stillborn american scientific.
A focus on zaynab alkalis the stillborn iosr journal. The title is a reference to the dreams that women have, and the fact that while some dreams are realised, others remain stillborn. The scope of this project work is focused on feminist aesthetic in african literature with a close study of two novels written by one of the nigerian leading female writer, zaynab alkali. The emergence of womens writing in africa was inescapable and necessary to resist and reconstruct meanings of womanhood created by male writers. Enchanted by tales of city life, faku marries, moves to the city, and becomes the second wife of a polygamous husband. In buchi emechetas second class citizen, the woman is presented as more enduring in the face of difficulties, more resourceful in the home front and finance. The dreams of faku and awa are aborted while those of li are stillborn. Women in nation building, a feminist study of naomi alderman. Buy the stillborn by zaynab alkali online at alibris. In this paper therefore, we have undertaken an appraisal of zainab alkalis the stillborn and the virtuous woman to buttress our position that the issues in her. Alkali presented stories of hausa women that rarely highlighted by nigerian male writers. It has discovered, for instance that the persistent inequality between men and women in the nigeria society which alkali works portray, has contributed to the general.
Ta yi karatu a jamiar bayaro dake kano da digirin ba a 1973 ta yi karatun digirin digirgir a jamiar sannan ta zama shugabar makarantar mata ta kwana ta sakere girls boarding school. Feminist aesthetic in zaynab alkalis the stillborn and the. In spite of these common failures, awa seems to have. She is best known for her first book, still born that established her reputation as an important voice from a region that is. Zaynab alkali is northern nigerias best known female novelist. In her first novel, the stillborn, she reflects her belief that it is essential that women throughout nigeria even africa be allowed and encouraged to. Longman, 1984 fiction in english nigerian writers, 1960 texts 106 pages. Founded in 1997, has become a leading book price comparison site. An analysis of gender relations in zaynab alkalis the.
Similarly, zaynab alkali easily denies that she is a feminist. Negofeminism as a bridge between patriarchy and matriarchy. Feminist aesthetic in zaynab alkali s the stillborn and the virtuous woman man never begins by presenting himself as an individual of a certain sex. Zaynab alkali tare da fatima umar wakiliyar bbc hausa an haifi zainab alkali ne a garin turawazila a jahar borno dake arewacin kasar najeriya a shekarar 1950. Alkalis tale of love and politics in invisible borders. Get the best deal by comparing prices from over 100,000 booksellers. The paper examines alkals treatment of the clash of westernisation, tradition and city life, political maladministration, poor infrastructure as.
There are many deeper issues at play here, but this was ostensibly a first step by alkali in addressing issues of women and modernisation in contemporary nigerian society. Womans quest for autonomy in zaynab alkalis the stillborn. Depicting how these thematic concerns plays a major roles in conscientizing women of their positions and duty in. In 1984 when her first novel the stillborn came out, while the world was still gripped with euphoria, these wetblanket critics capitalized on. Depicting how these thematic concerns plays a major roles in conscientizing women of their positions and duty in the modern day society. Zaynab alkalis first novel, the stillborn, follows the dreams of three nigerian village women. Analysis of zaynab alkali s novels, examines the attempts by alkali s female characters to extricate themselves from patriarchal holds through metaphoric analysis of the foot as a means by which the female characters walk out of. This comingofage novel depicts the physical and spiritual journey of a nigerian woman who learns to survive, in the face of harsh traditions. Her published books are the stillborn 1984, the virtuous woman 1986, the descendent 2003 and other short stories collection cowbells and other stories 1997.
Womans quest for autonomy in zaynab alkali s the stillborn. Sorry, we are unable to provide the full text but you may find it at the following locations. For instance, in an article by okereke 1996 entitled, womens quest for autonomy in zaynab alkali s the stillborn sees. The stillborn, perhaps zaynab alkalis bestknown work was published to critical acclaim in 1984. The virtuous woman 1986 that arrived two years after has not attracted much critical attention. This question is based on zaynab alkali s the stillborn. In her first novel, the stillborn, she reflects her belief that it is essential that women throughout nigeria even africa be allowed and encouraged to fulfil their potential, if they are to make an. Zaynab alkali s first novel, the stillborn, follows the dreams of three nigerian village women. Since winning the ana prize forthe stillborn in 1985, in almost every interview, zaynab alkali offers insights into the literary purpose behind her writing. The scope of this study is limited to feminism as portrayed in the work of buchi emecheta and zaynab alkali s the joys of motherhood and the stillborn respectively. Zaynab alkali writes to asses as one of the african writer on feminists and recipes for improving the women condition in africa.
Zaynab alkali s first novel is the stillborn was published by longman in its drumbeat series in 1983. Each chapter is named after the woman whose transformation it explores and the chapters are organised in a chronological sequence, that is, in the order that the writers of the texts were first published as authors of african literature, rather than according to. Alkalis the stillborn and the virtuous woman to demonstrate the. The multifaceted status of women as housewives, working professionals, semiskilled workers. It has discovered, for instance that the persistent inequality between men and women in the nigeria society which alkali works portray, has contributed to the. Aborted dream in zaynab alkali s the stillborn zaynab alkali, one of the first women novelists to emerge from northern nigeria. Zaynab alkali introduces habu, another male character of our consideration, in chapter two of the stillborn. The purpose of the present paper is to defamiliarize spivaks subaltern as a female subject within the context of the nigerian culture in zaynab alkali s the stillborn 1984. Women in nation building, a feminist study of naomi.
In this context, zaynab alkali, the first female writer from northern nigeria to compose literary narratives in english language demonstrates through her novel the stillborn the relationship of nature, home and identity to the implications of disintegration caused by patriarchal dynamics, along with global economic system as it affects the. Zaynab alkali label from public data source wikidata sources found. Alkalis tale of love and politics in invisible borders the. For this purpose therefore, we have chosen to beam our searchlight on zaynab alkali, a prolific nigerian female writer, who has persistently rejected her being classified as feminist albeit with little or no success. Li meets habu at the village dance she has crept out. She represents the emerging vision of the northern nigerian woman who for many decades has lived under restrictive islamic laws, prior to. She is the first female novelist from the muslim north. The stillborn 1984 is zaynab alkali s debut novel that captured the attention of many researchers and critics alike. Alkali is a prominent nigerian female writer, whose concern. In doing this, we have elected to use two of her most popular works, the stillborn and the virtuous woman.
As seen earlier, while critics enthusiastically celebrate her presence on the literary scene for being a rare voice from the northern part of the country and for being the first woman from northern nigeria to write in english, few stray. A lot of people have asked awardwinning author, prof. A womanist analysis of zaynab alkalis the stillborn, the virtuous woman and cobwebs and other stories abstract. However, to discuss the issues in alkali s the stillborn, this paper adopts the theory of feminism. The stillborn 1984, the virtuous w oman 1986 and some selected short stories in cobwebs and other stories 1997. An ecofeminist reading of zaynab alkali s the stillborn. Feminist aesthetic in zaynab alkalis the stillborn and. It won many accolades like the association of nigerian author prize for prose fiction in 1985.
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