Portrayals and Gender Palaver in Francophone African Writings

Book excerpt: The late 1960s witnessed the emergence of African women writers on the African literary space earlier dominated by African men. African women’s writings largely focus on deconstructing the patriarchal order, religious prescription and cultural mores in order to tear women’s veil of invisibility. The topics covered in the book are comprehensive and include among others: The Francophone African Novel; Religious and cultural constructs of African women; The poetic constructs of African women; Fictional constructs of subaltern African women; Marriage and the subordination of women; Physical and sexual exploitation of women; Women and Polygamy in men’s fiction; African women writers and the utilitarian function of their art; Female protagonists in fiction by African women; Discourse on the oppressors and the oppressed; African feminism/Western Feminism.