The myth of men’s supremacy in Flora Nwapa’s Women are Different

Abstract

The objective of this paper is twofold. First, it examines how a post-colonial female fictional narrative deconstructs the theory of men’s supremacy over women no matter the fields of activities. Second, it shows how education empowers women to vie with their male counterparts and even top them in Sub Saharan African countries. Flora Nwapa, a Nigerian and the first Anglophone African woman writer in her novel, Women are Different, portrays female characters playing stronger roles that were formerly said to be men’s prerogative. With the theory of post-colonial criticism, this paper posits that this committed Nigerian female writer shows concern for the misconception of the real and paramount role of the African woman in her community by restoring the real roles that African women play through empowerment. A qualitative descriptive research method and African feminism philosophy have been used to explore the reversal of roles in a man-dominated society.

Keywords: men’s supremacy – Flora Nwapa – fiction – gender-based discrimination– empowerment