African social appraisals of women’s liberal and radical feminism in selected contemporary West and Central African female and male novels

Abstract

Women, particularly in Africa, need feminism so as to advocate for their rights in the patriarchal setting of African societies. But the fact that some women, under the umbrella of it abuse children, men, and even their fellow women are problematic in contemporary African novels. Liberal and radical feminisms are part and parcel of feminisms in championing women’s rights. This article examines women’s liberal and radical feminist stratagems with the lens of African social appraisals in giving an answer to the following question: what are the African social appraisals of women’s liberal and radical feminist stratagems in their quests for women’s rights? Or what do the stratagems applied by liberal and radical feminists lead women to in contemporary African societies?  Through liberal and radical feminist readings of selected contemporary African male and female writings such as Amma Darko’s The Housemaid (1998), Daniel Mengara’s Mema (2003), Asare Adei’s A Beautiful Daughter (2012), and Lola Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives (2010), we have examined how women with liberal/radical feminism are treated and considered in African patriarchal setting. In short, the result shows that African women need a feminism that gives way for consistent dialogue and which goes in line with non-violent stratagems like the one of liberal feminism in their quest for women’s rights. The contrary, as in radicalism via violence against children, men or women, leads to men’s violence on women, isolation of women and humiliation of women in contemporary African societies. The position of the contemporary African female and male novels, we have worked on proves that violent stratagems adopted by African feminists in advocating for women’s rights should be reconsidered so as to assure the respect for human rights and take into account the socio-cultural realities of African societies.