BUCHI EMECHETA: Second Class Citizen
How are women treated in the novel?
Explanation
The novel deals with gender discrimination in chauvinist society, Nigeria. Culturally and traditionally, women are relegated to the background. This is because in a patriarchal society they are seen as objects. This, therefore, results in some males treating them negatively. However, women have positive attributes.
The female characters in the novel are treated rather dishonourably. Particular reference can be made to:
a. Adah, who is the female protagonist, works as a libration assistant and is breadwinner willy nilly, she is abused by her husband.
b. Ma, Adah's mother, who is blamed for Adah's well-executed sneaking into the classroom
c. Trudy, who is a childminder and cares for Adah's children in the UK is taken advantage of by Francis.
Denial of education to female children. Western education is the preserve of males. So Adah always takes Boy, her younger brother to school. Adah initiates to start schooling. Submission of wives to their husbands even extending this to their families. Devolvement of wives onto siblings of their late husbands. Adah's mother is physically and emotionally abused by the police for child (Adah) neglect.