Challenging Patriarchy and Women’s Struggle for Emancipation: A Literary Perspective
Conference: The 23rd Annual International Conference of the Igbo Studies Association (ISA) (2026)
Presenter(s): Ebele Eucahria Okafor
Tags: Conference 2026
Abstract
Literature is a vital instrument for social transformation and an advocate for women’s rights. Many literary writers address issues of gender inequality and women’s empowerment. They often present women as a strong pillar for their community development. Still, they pay inadequate attention to the specific realities of women’s oppression, abuse, and marginalization in their everyday struggle for emancipation. This study examines the oppression of women within the framework of patriarchal power, with emphasis on the marginalisation of the girl-child and the denial of women’s economic and ownership rights through traditional laws and cultural practices in Igbo society. Using Pat Obi Nwagbo’s Igbo drama text, When Women Go Naked (1918), written in English as the primary text, the paper analyses how women challenge patriarchal structures in their quest for emancipation. The drama text is purposively selected, and the content is analysed from social construction and patriarchal perspectives. The study reveals that women are often relegated to second-class status within the family because of the cultural preference for the male child, who is believed to preserve the family lineage. The belief system of patriarchy reinforces women’s subjugation and limits them to the background. The study further shows that women are traumatised in their struggle for liberation, and that women’s resistance and sisterhood are significant in challenging patriarchal domination. It concludes that kingship systems, customary laws, and traditional beliefs that subvert women’s rights should be reappraised to ensure equitable distribution and full participation of women in social, political, and economic development.
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