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According to the Stiwanist theory, colonialism, oppressive traditional structures, and African men (sometimes women too) can all impede social reform and contribute to gender inequality in Africa. Various studies highlight the importance of formal education in contributing to the emancipation of women in contemporary societies, despite challenges brought by the aforementioned obstacles. The choice to discuss two highly esteemed African female novelists who are from different generations of writers is imperative in tracking the evolution of formal female education in lightening the patriarchal weight in black societies. Through a close reading and thematic analysis of Emecheta's Double Yoke and Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, this study shows that despite being confronted with sexist resistance in Nigeria between the 1970s and 1980s, black female university lecturers such as Miss Bulewao and Ifeoma serve as agents of socio-economic transformation cultivated by egalitarianism. In addition, the discussion on Obinze's mother in Adichie's Americanah highlights that while there are systems which are counter women's liberation stemming from society's sexist ideologies, the 21st century is showing an adjustment to the implications of the newly-educated African woman, especially as a professional and mother. Contribution Through the adoption of Stiwanism as a theoretical lens, this study contributes to the existing literary scholarship of African feminisms that advocate for a collective activism to combat gender disparity, with women as active participants. This is with particular attention to how sexism, as underpinned by neocolonialism and traditional ideologies, continues to oppress girls and women despite the influence of formalised education, which can also be attributed to women's economic dependence. Through the analysis of academic female characters in selected classical novels by Emecheta and Adichie as primary sources of data, the current article reveals the novelists' prophetic fictional narratives regarding the challenges and successes faced by higher education in addressing female marginalisation. This study is important for the present milieu because it emphasises the challenge of the continued exponential increase in gender bias against black female lecturers and scholars in and outside the academy, highlighting that women's access to and improved enrolment numbers in higher education institutions does not necessarily abolish gender inequality in education., Author(s): Lethabo Masha (corresponding author) [1]; Mphoto J. Mogoboya [1] Introduction For many years feminist literature has highlighted factors that perpetuate gender inequality and hinder a total transformation that is [...]

The interface between African tradition and modernity is one of the concerns of spirited debates in the post-colonial period. Although most African writers deal with it, relatively few have attempted to depict how tradition and modernity may both benefit African societies. Modernity has reached Africa and, thus, the African tradition cannot remain intact. The utmost global portent that distresses human social life is the impact of modernity. Therefore, the paper's key objective is to delineate the degree of social impairment in the present-day Africa engendered by the interface between tradition and modernity. In Africa, modernity has not only influenced personal characteristics but also social, cultural, religious and the operation of establishments. Most believers of African tradition are very conventional, counterattacking the effects of modernity signalled by the colonial period, including the arrival of Christianity and Western teachings. This noted, the paper has utilised a qualitative research method and a textual analysis to critically scrutinise the impacts of the clash between tradition and modernity through the lens of the literary text, Heart of Redness (2000) by Zakes Mda. The findings from the study divulge the clash between African tradition and modernity has resulted in the erosion of many African traditional systems notwithstanding the dethronement of the colonial administration that empowered modernity at the expense of African traditional systems. The paper concludes that to reesseentialise African traditions, the remnants of colonialism should be successfully uprooted. This noted, this study will make a significant contribution to the rehabilitation of African traditions as it unravels the foundations and gatekeepers of modernity at the expense of African tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay of oral-lore in literary texts is gaining immense popularity African literary texts. This influence of African oral elements are common in novels, the short stories, poetry or drama written by most black African writers. Ngugi (1986) calls this phenomenon, orature, which means oral literature in Africa. This article endeavours to critically analyse the resurgence of orality in Mda's The Heart of Redness (2000). Mda's The Heart of Redness was purposively sampled from other novels by the same novelist because of its germaness to the study. It is a qualitative study which is undergirded by the Post-colonial theoretical assumptions. Firstly, this article defines and discusses the following interwoven terms: orality, oral tradition and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). Secondly, this article critically analyses some of the salient characteristics of the oral tradition employed in Mda's The Heart of Redness, which are, totemism, symbolism and omen(s). Lastly, it (this paper) emphasises the use of oral forms and IKS in literary texts for the transformation of (South) African literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender (dis)parity has, throughout the years, proven to be primal, with women, especially in African communities, continuing to be structurally repressed by the patriarchal establishments. These women strive to reclaim their rightful place in society through gender activism. They protest against this gender-based socio-economic deprivation that is ravaging both the world and the African continent through Feministic theoretical assumptions. This study is, therefore, underpinned by the Feminist theory which is guided by exploratory research design. Its aim is to critically explore gender issues in Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions (2004). It has, furthermore, employed qualitative research approach to endeavour to understand the nature of gender vulnerabilities in Africa through Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions. Purposive sampling was used to select the novel from the other literary works by the same author because of its appositeness to the study. Critical textual analysis was used as a data analysis technique to dissect the novel. The study has established that there is gender adversity which impedes development in Africa and the world. It, furthermore, recommends that African governments should strengthen consequence management instruments in their countries in order to subvert gender-based challenges for social justice and women empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores social identity and the plight of the marginalised groups in Southern Africa as depicted in Bessie Head's novel, Maru (1971). From time immemorial until now, minority groups have suffered exploitation, subjugation and repression from the dominant elite who are usually led by patriarchal societies who treat them as slaves and outcasts. In Maru, Head seeks to reconstruct the distorted identity and the positive image of the marginalised minority groups in the Southern Africa. She does so by employing an autobiographical narrative voice in order to blend her own personal experience with fictional characters. The novel mirrors a fluidity of identities in both social and political spheres and demonstrates how suppression of these identities affects both individuals and nation states. This is a qualitative study which is underpinned by Afrocentric theoretical assumptions. It is a thematised textual analysis of Head's Maru which seeks to overtly re-illuminate and dismantle established ethnic prejudices and racial discrimination against the vulnerable minority groups who form the larger part of the underprivileged people in Southern Africa. Maru was purposively sampled because of its relevance to the study. This article recommends the deconstruction of stereotypes and reconstruction of the misrepresented identity of the marginalised people in Southern Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]