Democracy, Gender Issues and Women Empowerment in Nigeria: Reflections on Selected Nigerian Feminist Drama

Authors

  • Augustine Obiajulu Eziechine University of Delta, Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria
  • Jude Aigbe Agho Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47941/jgrs.1296

Keywords:

Democracy, Gender, Women Empowerment, Drama, Human Rights, Creative Writers

Abstract

Purpose: Gender inequality has thrived in Nigeria for too long. Feminist scholars therefore feel that there is urgent need to change the status quo through feminist inputs and this led to the present persistent advocacy for women empowerment. Drama has been mostly deployed as a means of expressing this new trend of discourse. Thus, Nigerian writers, especially feminist dramatists, consciously reflect in their works the frightening realities of the prevailing socio- political and economic situations in the country, drawing the attention of the masses, especially the female gender to the inequality inherent in their exploitation, mobilizing the society to rise up against their oppressors. This paper therefore, is set to examine the issues of gender and women empowerment in Nigeria as reflected in selected Nigerian plays. The plays include Tess Onwueme's The Reign of Wazobia, J.P. Clark's The Wives' Revolt and Fred Agbeyegbe's The King Must Dance Naked.

Methodology: Textual analysis of the selected plays is carried out.

Findings: The analysis reveals that drama can be employed as a weapon to break the walls of cultural barriers that impede the struggle of women for social, political and economic empowerment.

Unique Contribution to Theory Policy and Practice: Thus, premised on the Womanist theory, this paper concludes that drama can be deployed as a means of promoting justice, gender equity and fair play in Nigeria's drive towards the possibilities of true democracy. This is the playwrights' contribution to the theory and practice of feminist drama in Nigeria.

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Author Biographies

Augustine Obiajulu Eziechine, University of Delta, Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria

Department of Languages (English Unit)

Jude Aigbe Agho, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State

Department of English

References

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Published

2023-06-05

How to Cite

Eziechine, A. O. ., & Agho, J. A. (2023). Democracy, Gender Issues and Women Empowerment in Nigeria: Reflections on Selected Nigerian Feminist Drama. Journal of Gender Related Studies, 4(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.47941/jgrs.1296

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Articles