Drama and gender power relation in African societies: The 21st century paradigm shift

Abstract

Arguments for African women’s rights and equal representation in governance have become integral to international declarations, regional treaties, national legislation, grassroots activism, the dramatists and measurable progress has been made unobserved. Thus the ignored landmark changes of how African men have yielded to these shifts, and how African masculinities are affected in such changes necessitated this research. This study illustrates the complex and often contradictory engagements with human rights that occur in local contexts, how such engagements are shaped by gender relations, including conceptions of masculinity; and how such practices are gradually been discarded to accommodate women’s right. Through the content analysis of the plays under study, the study investigates how ordinary men and women among the Nigeria society understand women’s rights, and how their attitudes are shaped in recent times. The findings of this study reveal that gender relations are evident in modern Nigeria society one that accommodates some aspects of women’s rights and participation in governance: while innate male authority is dwindling. This paper therefore recommends that other African societies that still practice obnoxious acts against women should review them, as times are fast changing: and both women in Africa continent and their counterpart in Europe and America should begin to have rethought on advocacy for gender equality for African women as they are already empowered.

Keywords: Drama, Africa, Gender, Power, 21 Century, Paradigm-Shift