CULTURAL PATRIARCHY AND MYTHICAL STEREOTYPES ABOUT WOMEN IN AFRICAN LITERATURE

Maureen Amaka Azuike,

Department of English,

University of Jos, Jos, Plateau  State, Nigeria. Email: amakaazuike@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Mythical stereotypes about women in African Literature have undeniably incorporated views which have mostly recognized women in terms of their sexuality and reproduction. Among these stereotypical views exist the continual stressing of the social and political, legal and economic supremacy of the man and the inferior status of the woman. The mythologizing of the woman as the lesser being, therefore, cuts across cultural and geographical boundaries and contemporary African writers have, unfortunately, exacerbated the problem in their works. This study will challenge the cultural, historical, religious and patriarchal boundaries set for women which have inadvertently escalated the breakdown of laws of moral conduct as seen in (selected) contemporary African literary texts. This study will be guided by the New Feminist Approach which is adopted due to its proposal of new ways of helping women to lead better lives as well as its proposal to correct the misconceptions about women. The study will also be guided by the Patriarchal Political Theory which has, to some extent, worsened women’s issues. The study will conclude that now is the time, more than ever before, to bust all the mythical stereotypes about women that are propagated by men, which tend to devalue women, and to rewrite contemporary African (feminist) narratives. This is because the archaic cultural values and demeaning roles assigned to women have had in them, deeply engrained social attitudes that have hindered women’s progress for years and have continued to impede their growth.

Keywords: Cultural Patriarchy, Mythical Stereotypes, Female Sexuality, Feminist Narratives, Contemporary African Literature.