Women, their own worst enemies: A comparative study of Tess Onwueme's go tell it to women and the reign of Wazobia

Abstract

Mythologically, most critics see women and their relationship with their spouses and the entire society as a fair description of their status through the ages. Biblical account has it that it was the woman who first tasted the forbidden fruit and also made the man to taste. The woman is, therefore adjudged to be cursed by the creator Himself. While some feminist writers query this natural dichotomy between the man and the woman, some writers, especially within the African feminist group, are influenced by this mythological justification by the Bible. They seem to suggest too, that even the domestic division of labor practiced in African culture based on sex and gender was ordained by God and therefore to change this would be to antagonize the creator. This has been the major problem of African feminist activities. There has been a strong disagreement within this sphere, while some believe in the western approach toward solving the woman emancipation problem; others see the approach as not workable
in the African region. Perhaps it is this disagreement among our feminist scholars as well as activist that has brought about the multifaceted  approach to the women question in Africa and indeed Nigeria. Never mind that some feminist scholars have actually accused God of chauvinism, or even that He is a man. While in the Western world, there exists the agreement among feminist scholars that women are subjugated, marginalized and therefore need to be liberated, our African scholars are still engaged in a battle of deciding whether our women are really  deprived. As a matter of fact they argue that the strength of a woman lies in her womanhood and therefore should not be tampered with. To them,
African women are only 'faithfully' attending to their naturally ordained responsibilities. As the battle rages it becomes more and more difficult to begin to tackle the women question in our society.