New Perspectives on Women and Community Empowerment in Zaynab Alkali's The Descendants and The Initiates

Abstract

Modern fiction in its attempt to address the woman question is re-focusing
attention rather than on simply continuing to bemoan women’s subjection in
society to actually, depicting them as striving actively, to overcome such
subjection. The raging crusades are all aimed at women’s emancipation and
have helped in bringing about the emergence of the new woman in control
not only of her situation and destiny, but also of the opportunities hitherto
denied her, for self-fulfillment. In this regards, this paper examines Zaynab
Alkali’s portrayal of women as vibrant crusaders in bringing about tangible
developments in their immediate environments. With insights into the
development of female characters in two of her most recent works, The
Descendants and The Initiates, this paper hopes to highlight Alkali’s new
generation woman who is ready to offer her services thereby, re-defining the
old roles played by women in Nigerian Literature.