School of Human Sciences and Education

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Browsing School of Human Sciences and Education by Subject "Africa"

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    An ecofeminist reading of selected black female writers'autobiographical works
    (Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), 2019-10) Sibanga, Irene Lumba
    This study was an ecofeminist reading of selected black female writers’ autobiographical works (Unbowed: A Memoir [UM] (2007) by Kenyan, Wangari Maathai, Nervous Conditions [NC] (1988) by Zimbabwean, Tsitsi Dangaremba, and Walking the Boeing 707 [WB] (2008) by Namibian, Lydia Shaketange). The relationship between humans and nature remains largely under-investigated in literary studies, particularly in Africa. This relationship did not happen accidentally, but instead developed from a carefully crafted frame of life and environmental perspective. It becomes important to have a serious conversation on the connectivity between human and non-human nature. Premised on the ecofeminism framework, this study explored the relationship between women and nature in a male-dominated society, as depicted in the autobiographical texts and one semi-autobiographical text by black African female writers. The study was framed by ecofeminism where ecofeminism examines the interconnections between the domination of women and the domination of nature. A literature review was conducted and relevant sources were consulted that aided in establishing a foundation from which this study was built. The study employed content analysis as it was a qualitative desktop type of research. No field work was conducted. The main objective, together with the sub-objectives, were all fulfilled as revealed in the analysis which culminated in the findings. The study revealed that the results were almost the same, namely that the societies were mainly patriarchal, particularly for UM and NC. The way Maathai had to fight throughout the novel shows the oppressive nature of the society that she finds herself in. In NC, the characters: Tambu, Maiguru and Nyasha, also suffer equally under patriarchal domination as well as the vicious colonial system. Hence, the female characters in the novel have nowhere to escape to and are literally trapped in a system that they can never unshackle. The study suggests as one of its recommendations that future studies may consider using further different texts that deal with environmental issues and aspects pertaining to the subjugation of women. This may widen the understanding of the ecofeminist theory.