Citation: Saleh, B. B. and Idris, A. A. (2026). “Coercion of Working Wives within their Matrimony: A Comparative Analysis of Buchi Emecheta's Second Class Citizen and Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter through the Lens of Iris Young’s Theory of Justice” In Ɗunɗaye Journal of Hausa Studies, Vol. 04, No. 01, Pp. 57 – 65. www.doi.org/10.36349/djhs.2026.v04n01.008.
COERCION OF WORKING WIVES WITHIN THEIR
MATRIMONY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BUCHI EMECHETA'S SECOND CLASS CITIZEN AND
MARIAMA BÂ'S SO LONG A LETTER THROUGH THE LENS OF IRIS YOUNG’S THEORY OF
JUSTICE
By
Bilkisu Baba Saleh, PhD
Department of English and Literary
Studies,
Yobe State University, Damaturu
And
Abdulrahman Abdulwaheed Idris, PhD
Department of English and Literary
Studies,
Yobe State University, Damaturu
Abstract:
Many African women’s matrimonial homes are profoundly
shaped by entrenched patriarchal, cultural, and religious norms. Such
households within African novelistic discourse have invariably been depicted as
spaces of women’s subjugation. In Igbo and Senegalese contexts, marriage
becomes a structural mechanism through which gendered oppression is normalised
and sustained. Against this background, this study critically examines Buchi
Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen and Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter through the lens
of Iris Marion Young’s theory of justice. The study employs a qualitative
comparative method through a close textual analysis of the two selected texts,
nuances and excerpts from the texts are extracted and analysed through the lens
of Young’s framework. The study reveals that women experience multi-layered
oppression across economic, cultural, and domestic spheres. The study further
reveals that abandonment, polygamy, and divorce further intensify women’s
marginalisation and powerlessness. In addition, the study found that the
domestic violence and coercion through physical and emotional abuse, among
others, which women suffer, are structural, culturally embedded, and
multifaceted. The paper concludes that the novels’ authorial intention
advocates for a form of justice capable of addressing these intersecting
structures of domination in order to achieve meaningful and socially grounded
gender equity in marriage.
Keywords: Patriarchy, coercion, working wives, polygamy,
marriage.
1.1 Introduction
Women’s lives in many African societies are deeply
influenced by longstanding patriarchal, cultural, and religious structures that
prioritize male authority and restrict female agency, particularly within the
family. Although, the family is traditionally idealized as a space of care,
moral instruction, and social cohesion, literature from Igbo and Senegalese
cultures frequently subverts this narrative by exposing marriage as a site of
women’s oppression, where socially endorsed roles and expectations curtail
women’s independence and reinforce male dominance. Women are burdened with
extensive domestic responsibilities, expected to uphold family honour, manage
household labour, and subordinate their personal aspirations to the interests
of their husbands and extended families. These gendered obligations are
sustained through cultural values, religious expectations that legitimize
patriarchal power, and frame female resistance as morally inappropriate. Formal
education and paid employment are commonly regarded as pathways to women’s
empowerment and socio-economic advancement, literary representations reveal
that professional competence and financial contributions of women are incapable
of automatically translating into autonomy or equity within family or social
relationships. Within this context, this paper interrogates Buchi
Emecheta's Second Class Citizen and Mariama Bâ's So
Long a Letter through a comparative textual analysis to identify
both convergences and divergences in women’s gendered experiences. Drawing on
Iris Marion Young’s theoretical lens, the analysis examines the mechanisms
through which cultural norms, established practices and socially approved
gender roles systemacally oppress women.
1.2 Research Design (comparative textual analysis)
This study adopts a comparative textual analysis
research design which involves a systematic examination of the narratives,
characters, and themes in two African novels to identify similarities,
differences and patterns in the depiction of women’s experiences. Comparative
analysis of these novels highlights both shared and divergent experiences of
women in the Nigerian Igbo and Senegalese Muslim contexts, offering insights
into the broader dynamics of gendered power and structural injustice in African
societies.
1.3 Scope (two novels, African feminist contexts)
The analysis is confined to Buchi Emecheta’s Second
Class Citizen and Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter situating
the study within an African feminist context that interrogates the structural
and cultural mechanisms limiting women’s independence, social contribution, and
economic independence. Also, the scope focuses on the experiences of working
wives, exploring issues such as faces of oppression within the patriarchal
family.
2.1 Theoretical lens (Young’s framework)
The study is guided by Iris Marion Young’s theoretical
framework on justice and oppression, which provides a lens for understanding
the systemic inequalities and social mechanisms through which women are
subordinated. Iris Marion Young’s theory of Justice and the Politics of
Difference (1990) offers a powerful lens for analysing systemic and structural
oppression. She identifies five interrelated forms of injustice in the form of
exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and
violence to explain the multidimensional experiences of marginalized groups
particularly women.
2.2 Exploitations
Young defines one of the notions of oppression as
exploitation which she refers to as “the steady process of the transfer of the
result of the labour of one social group to benefit another” (Young 1990, p.
49). Drawing on Marxist feminism, she situates women’s oppression within class
divisions, where their productive, reproductive, and emotional labour is
appropriated for men’s advantage. She refers to women’s unpaid domestic and
caregiving work, performed without recognition, as an example of this dynamic.
2.2 Marginalization
This refers to the systemic exclusion of specific
groups from participation in social, political, and economic life. (Young,
1990, p 53) argues that “A whole category of people is expelled from useful
participation in social life and thus potentially subjected to severe material
deprivation and even extermination”. For women, it deprives them of the
opportunity to contribute to society in recognized ways, often leaving them
dependent on others for survival. Marginalization manifests in restricted
access to employment, educational opportunities, and exclusion from leadership
roles. This exclusion reinforces their economic dependence and social
invisibility, further entrenching gender inequality.
2.3 Powerlessness
Young describes the powerless as those who primarily
receive orders but rarely exercise authority. Within patriarchal households and
institutions, women’s lack of decision-making power entrenches male dominance,
sustaining a divide between those who command and those who obey. It is the
reason why Young (1990, p. 56) defines “powerlessness as a condition of “those
whose power is exercised without their exercising it.” The powerless are
positioned so that they take orders and seldom have the right to grant them.
Women frequently lack agency in household and institutional decisions,
reinforcing a divide between those who plan and those who execute (Young, 1990,
p. 57), which maintains male authority.
2.4 Cultural Imperialism
This form of oppression arises when dominant cultural
norms define what is “normal” rendering alternative perspectives invisible or
deviant. (Young, 1990, p.p) argues that cultural imperialism “is to experience
how the dominant meaning of a society enders the particular perspective of
one’s own group invisible at the same time as they stereotype one’s group and
make it out as the other.” Women’s live experiences are often devalued, while
male centred norms are elevated as universal standards, perpetuating
patriarchal hierarchies. Cultural imperialism occurs when the dominant group’s
norms become the societal standard, rendering other perspectives invisible or
deviant. For women, this means their experiences are marginalized or devalued,
while male-centred values are normalized, reinforcing patriarchal hierarchies.
2.5 Violence
Violence operates as a physical, psychological and
economic instrument of control. Women endure not only the threat but also the
reality of domestic abuse, sexual assault, forced marriages, and other acts
intended to maintain patriarchal authority. (Young 1990, p. 61) states that
violence is also a form of oppression in which members of some group live with
the knowledge that they must fear random unprovoked attacks on their persons or
property; which have no motive but to damage, humiliate or destroy the person.
For women, this includes domestic abuse, sexual assault, forced marriage, and
other acts intended to enforce compliance with patriarchal norms. Young’s
framework demonstrates how these five interlocking structures sustain gender
inequality and provides a multidimensional lens for understanding gender
oppression. Her insights remain crucial for analysing the systemic
subordination of women in contexts where cultural and institutional forces
normalize patriarchal dominance.
3.1 Method of data gathering (textual evidence)
The research methodology is focused on qualitative
content analysis of two novels within the context of African feminism. The
paper adopts Young’s approach as a framework. The analysis is on the real
content and key structures of the texts. Data are gathered from textual
evidence drawn directly from the novels, including character interactions,
dialogues, and narrative descriptions that illustrate oppression, resilience,
and agency. Data obtained are from Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class
Citizen and Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter. The excerpts
from the texts are broken down into manageable categories on a variety of
levels, expression, word logic, phrases, sentences or themes and then analysed.
The results are then used to create interpretations around the messages inside
the text, authors’ values and period in which the texts were produced. As the
research uses Young theory, it critiques gender oppression and advocates for
the eradication of institutional bias and implementations of fairer laws
towards women.
4.1 Analysis of Second Class Citizen
(1975) through Iris Young’s Theory of Justice
Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen exposes
the multifaceted injustices women endure in Igbo society, ranging from violence
to exploitation, loss of autonomy and systemic powerlessness.
4.1.1 Injustice against Women in Second Class Citizen
Second Class Citizen portrays the systemic subjugation of
women in Igbo society, exposing the injustices of violence, domestic
exploitation, financial control, marital imperialism, and female powerlessness.
4.1.2 Exploitation through Domestic Labour and control
of Finances
Exploitation is one part of gender oppression that
Emecheta uncovered in her work to indicate the reality of the humiliation women
experience regarding marriage. She showed that African societies exploit women
through domestic work and control of their earnings. Emecheta highlights
women’s exploitation through traditional gender roles which confine women to
endless domestic work while men enjoy leisure. Francis reinforces this when he
claims women are “second-class humans, to have sense beaten into them…to make
sure they washed his clothes and got his meals ready at the right time”
((Emecheta, 1974, p. 175).
Additionally, women’s financial independence is
undermined by patriarchal control. Adah’s income is seized by Francis, who uses
it to support his family in Nigeria and abroad, denying her autonomy over her
own earnings. When Adah married Francis and got a job, Francis was worried and
requested for his father’s opinion. (Emecheta, 1974, p. 20) states that Francis
said:
Do you think our marriage will last if I allow Adah to
go and work for the Americans? Her pay will be three times my own...You are a
fool of a man,…where will she take the money to?... The money is for you...Let
her go and work for a million Americans and bring their money here, into this
house.
Adah is exploited by her husband through constant
control of her salary. In Nigeria, Francis used her salary to educate his
siblings and feed the family. When she joined him in U.K, he spent her salary
for the family expenses because he completely depended upon Adah for financial
support. Adah argues that “was there a month when your father did not pay the
rent, give food, money, pay for all your school fees?” (Emecheta, 1974, p.
183). This means, Adah as a working wife takes care of all the
responsibilities of the family because she gets good salary. Emecheta
portrays Adah’s exploitation by Francis as the ultimate protest of chauvinism
and Francis’s attitude oppresses Adah through denial of her control her own
money stressing Young’s assertion that exploitation often involves control over
others’ labour and resources. Also, the economic abuse exemplifies injustice
where gender roles intersect with spousal power to support disparity.
4.1.3 Marginalization in decision making
Marginalization as a form of oppression is clearly
reflected in Adah’s restricted decision-making power. Despite her education and
exposure to Western life, Adah feels intense guilt whenever she attempts to
make choices concerning her own life, interpreting autonomy as a violation of
tradition. This internalized constraint illustrates how patriarchal cultural
norms silence women’s agency and confine them to subordinate positions. Her
fear of communal judgment is evident in her question, “what will his people
think if they hear of this?” (Emecheta, 1974, p. 155), revealing how women’s
choices are regulated by male-centred social expectations. This experience
demonstrates how marginalization operates through the denial of women’s
capacity to choose freely, even in matters central to their personal well-being
and identity.
4.1.4 Powerlessness through Abandonment
Powerlessness is yet another instance of gender
oppression revealed in the work of the author to point to the actuality of
women plight in Igbo society. The author showed that women remain powerless
during divorce, particularly when the husband decides to abandon his children.
Emecheta argues that women are oppressed for single-handedly looking after the
children. Also, Adah’s struggles further reveal the powerlessness
of women in divorce and custody matters. After Francis burns their marriage and
birth certificates (Emecheta, 1974, p. 170), he denies his children in court
and even suggests adoption: “I do not mind their being sent for adoption.”
Adah, however, insists: “The children are mine, and that is enough. I shall
never let them down as long as I am alive” (Emecheta, 1974, p. 185). This act
underscores the double burden placed on women who must raise children alone
while men evade responsibility. Through Francis, Emecheta personifies
chauvinism, selfishness, and exploitation. But, Adah’s struggle for custody
highlights powerlessness as a key form of oppression, in Young’s concept, which
exposes practises of oppression as mutually reinforcing and creating a
pervasive structure that repeatedly undermined women’s social and economic
autonomy.
4.1.5 Cultural Imperialism over Divorce
Cultural imperialism is another gender
oppression the author used to disclose the real distress women face when ending
a marriage. The organization of every community gives the right for husbands to
terminate their marriage but in this case, the husband uses the opportunity of
his right to divorce in humiliating the wife. For this reason, women are
troubled due to the measures in ending their marriages. When Adah seeks
separation, Francis reminds her that “in our country…there is nothing like
divorce or separation. Once a man’s wife, always a man’s wife until you die”
(Emecheta, 1974, p. 183). Such cultural norms reinforce male dominance and deny
women the freedom to escape oppression. Francis invokes cultural norms to deny
her right to divorce, indicating Young’s notion of cultural imperialism whereby
dominant individuals impose their standards to perpetuate subordination.
4.1.6 Violence in form of physical abuse (beating)
Emecheta depicts violence against women through physical
abuse, which appears to be a recurring injustice in the novel. Francis shows
violence by beating his wife and even recalls his father’s violent abuse
against his mother during his childhood. This means brutality, such as
violence, is normalized, inherited and serves as a means of enforcing
obedience. “My father knocked my mother about until I was old enough to throw
stones at him. My mother never left my father” (Emecheta, 1974, p. 183). Women
are expected to be silent and submissive to their husbands even with a
situation such as violence, which leaves Adah trapped in cycles of humiliation
and sacrifice. Marriage in patriarchal Igbo culture legitimizes men’s
authority, often expressed through domestic violence. Husbands like Francis
feel entitled to discipline their wives, reinforcing women’s subordination
within the family. Physical abuse in the novel exemplifies Young’s notion of
oppression as a mechanism for controlling subordinate groups. Also, Francis’s
cruelty is not merely individual acts of brutality but rooted in cultural and
social structures that normalize domination.
4.2 Analysis of Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter through
Iris Young’s Theory of Justice
In Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter, there
are instances and nuanced portrayal of oppression as postulated by Iris Young.
There are various types of oppression which women face which include economic
exploitation, marginalisation, powerlessness and family abandonment.
4.2.1 Economic Exploitation of Women
Like Buchi Emecheta, Mariama Bâ’s So Long a
Letter portrays similar structural oppression in Senegalese society,
emphasizing exploitation, marginalization and powerlessness in polygamous and
patriarchal contexts. In Senegalese society, just like in Nigeria, women remain
under patriarchal control. At times, even their salaries are indirectly placed
under men’s authority. A clear case is when Modou Ba uses joint marital savings
to purchase property for his new wife, Ramatulaye argues that “This house and
its chic contents were acquired by a bank loan granted on the mortgage of
‘Villa Fallene’, where I live. Although the title deeds of this house bear his
name, it is nonetheless our common property, acquired by our joint savings.
Insult upon injury!” (Ba, 1989, p. 10). Bâ cautions working wives against
sharing bank accounts with their husbands, since this can easily lead to
exploitation. Traditionally, men are expected to provide for the family
covering food, school fees, electricity, and water bills. Yet, Ramatoulaye
recounts how she bore these responsibilities alone. Ba argues that:
The purchase of basic foodstuffs kept me occupied at
the end of every month; I stored bags of ‘Siam’ rice… payment of electricity
bills and of water rates demanded my attention. Replacing the locks and latches
of broken doors, replacing broken windows was a bother, as well as looking for
a plumber to deal with blocked sinks… burnt-out bulbs that needed replacement.
(Ba, 1989, p. 51)
This demonstrates how Modou’s abandonment forced
Ramatoulaye to assume all financial duties for their twelve children. His
refusal to provide was not only neglect but also a calculated way of signalling
his disinterest in his first family. Young’s concept of exploitation is
apparent when Modou refuses financial support lowering Ramatoulaye to a
socially and economically inferior position.
4.2.2 Marginalization as a result of inequality.
Another pressing concern in Bâ’s narrative is
inequality, particularly in the treatment of co-wives in polygamous marriages.
When Modou married Binetou, he lavished her and her mother with a luxurious
villa and elegant furnishings. Ba argues that: “Modou provided a villa
consisting of four bedrooms, two bathrooms, pink and blue, large sitting-room,
a three-room flat… furniture from France for his new wife and furniture
constructed by local carpenters for Lady Mother-in-Law.” (Ba, 1989, p. 10).
This act highlights the deep humiliation first wives face when husbands openly
favour younger wives. Unlike men who try to balance polygamous households by
giving equal gifts, Modou’s actions show cruelty and disregard toward
Ramatoulaye. In addition, Modou granted Binetou a generous monthly
allowance of fifty thousand francs almost like a salary while denying
Ramatoulaye any financial support. The heroine laments this denial as a grave
injustice. Furthermore, Modou’s decision to borrow four million francs to send
Binetou’s parents on pilgrimage to Mecca while neglecting Ramatoulaye’s parents
reveals stark inequality between the wives. Young’s notions reveal that
favoritism toward younger wives exacerbates the marginalization of first wives.
This practice operates as a systemic mechanism through which women are
hierarchically positioned within marital and social institutions, thereby
reinforcing structural inequality. At times, such inequality not only produces
marginalization but also intersects with cultural imperialism, which
legitimizes the husband’s unchecked authority within the domestic sphere. These
practices are deeply rooted in traditional norms and social structures that
continue to shape African family life.
4.2.3 Women’s Powerlessness and Family Abandonment
Bâ also portrays the powerlessness of women,
especially when husbands abandon them. Ramatoulaye’s humiliation intensifies
when Modou marries her daughter’s friend, Binetou. Ba argues that “ Binetou, a
child the same age as my daughter Daba, promoted to the rank of my co-wife,
whom I must face up to… the cases of many other women, despised, relegated or
exchanged, who were abandoned like a worn-out or out-dated boubou.” (Ba, 1989,
p. 10) After marrying Binetou, Modou completely abandoned Ramatoulaye and their
twelve children. Ba laments that “attempts by friends and family to bring him
back to the fold proved futile. …He never came again; his new-found happiness
gradually swallowed up his memory of us.” (Ba, 1989, p. 10). This unfairness
reveals powerlessness that intersects with marginalization showing
Ramatoulaye’s burden of care and responsibility, which reflects systemic
subordination imposed by patriarchal norms.
5.1 Discussion
Based on the argument of this paper regarding the
oppression of working wives in Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen and
Bâ’s So Long a Letter, the Iris Marion Young’s “faces
of oppression,” revealed multiple layers of injustice embedded in Igbo and
Senegalese societies. The novels demonstrate how women are systematically
subjected to exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism
and violence.
Exploitation is identified particularly through the
disproportionate assigned task of domestic labour and the control of women’s
earnings. (Young 1990, p. 48) emphasizes that women’s domestic labour
constitutes a form of class exploitation as it is unrecognized yet essential to
family survival. In both societies, women are burdened with a heavy workload
while also being denied control over their financial resources and property.
(Efe & Eberechi, 2020, pp.8-9) highlight that “women historically had few
rights to property with their possessions reduced to basic household items.” As
a result of exploitation, many women, including Adah and Ramatoulaye, become
financially disadvantaged and denied economic independence. It is the reason
why some women even resort to hiding their money from their husbands to escape
exploitation. (Hedstrom, J. 2022, p. 7) observes that “women’s wage labour
often serves the interests of capital while married women remain vulnerable as
“women become literally the reserve army of labour.” Consequently, both
heroines struggle alone to support themselves and their children after being
rejected by their husbands illustrating the economic coercion they endure.
Also, both women carry a disproportionate share of household duties while their
financial contributions are often controlled or appropriated by their husbands
and reflect how women’s labour and income are gendered
Marginalization is also strongly reflected in the
novels, particularly through women’s decision making, inequality, polygamy, and
reduced status after divorce or abandonment. In Igbo society, divorced women
face dispossession of property and children, leaving them socially and
economically disadvantaged. Basden (1921), as cited in (Nwobia, 2021, p. 64)
notes that upon divorce, a woman was deprived of both property and children,
with only a few domestic utensils left in her possession. Abandonment further
marginalizes women, as they are left in ambiguous social positions neither
divorced nor fully married while forced to raise children alone without
support. Ramatoulaye’s experiences of abandonment and unequal treatment in
favour of a younger wife illustrates this marginalization leaving her isolated
and burdened with childrearing responsibilities.
Powerlessness is evident in men’s exercising authority
over economic resources, reproduction, and household responsibilities, while
women are forced into submission and suffering. Divorce and abandonment
intensify this powerlessness, leaving women solely responsible for family
survival without institutional or financial support. Adah, for instance,
experiences the helplessness of raising children with limited resources after
her separation. Similarly, Ramatoulaye’s endurance of her husband’s polygamy demonstrates
how cultural expectations silence women, depriving them of their power to
challenge patriarchal practices. Divorce is recognized in both societies; its
consequences are particularly severe for women in Igbo culture. This renders
them vulnerable to poverty and social isolation. Similarly, abandonment leaves
women in a precarious position, as they are neither fully divorced nor
supported, yet must single-handedly provide for their children. Both Adah and
Ramatoulaye experienced this injustice. Adah is left in misery after divorce
while Ramatoulaye endures hardship after her husband abandons her for a younger
wife. According to (Lin, Brown, and Carr 2021, p. 2077), “women experienced a
45% decline in their standard of living after divorce, compared with a 21%
decline for men. The economic losses for women tended to persist unless they
repartnered.” Therefore, divorce has a lasting negative impact on women’s
economic well-being, lowering their standard of living and depriving them of
stability.
Cultural imperialism manifests in the way societal
norms and traditions define women’s roles strictly in terms of domesticity,
subservience, and silence. In both societies, patriarchal ideologies normalize
women’s subordination, making oppression appear natural and acceptable. (Uchem,
2001, p.5) explains that in Igbo society, women were not free to speak openly
and were often silenced through physical force. This refers to traditional
denial of women’s right to expressions. In both settings, women are placed as
subjects whose obligation is to listen and comply with any situation. In
addition, the practise of using physical force to impose women’s silence
represents violence as a device of coercion. In this context, women’s imposed
silence functioned as a traditional custom in the form of gendered control
enacted through oppression. Furthermore, men’s preference for younger wives,
sometimes close in age to their daughters, reinforces cultural narratives that
devalue older women. This cultural logic places women like Ramatoulaye and Adah
in positions of humiliation and exclusion, shaping their lives according to
standards set by men.
5.2 Findings
The discussions on the excerpts from the two texts,
the paper concludes that there are nuanced representations of oppression of
women within the communities in which the novels were set. The most
critical among the injustices experienced by women is the domestic violence
which plays a defining role in the lives of working married women. In Igbo
society, men often exert control over their wives through violence, thereby
enforcing total submission. This control is expressed through persistent
beating, slapping, verbal abuse, or even marital rape. For instance, Adah is
subjected to relentless abuse from her husband, leading her to choose divorce
rather than endure constant physical torment. Violence, as shown, not only
disrupts family unity but also breeds resentment, causes physical and emotional
trauma, and negatively affects children. By contrast, Ramatoulaye suffers
emotional and silent humiliation within her marriage. Both forms of oppression
can therefore disrupt family unity, breeds resentment, and cause lasting
physical and emotional harm. Although Ramatoulaye does not face physical abuse,
her humiliation and abandonment represent another form of violence that
inflicts deep suffering. The paper also discovered that the women characters in
the two novels experience multi-layered oppression across economic, cultural,
and domestic spheres. Marriage functions as a site of exploitation rather than
protection of their agency and human rights. The most challenging access to
women’s equality is overcoming the patriarchal norms, which override their
professional achievements. This illustrates the unfairness instigated by
patriarchal and cultural norms within the two societies. Ramatoulaye’s
education and freedom to work and earn salary do not give her the equality she
deserves due to such cultural norms that place the man over the woman. The
woman invariably depends and relies on the man and whenever the former abandons
the latter, her conditions always become unbearable. The major factor that
brings about such abandonment has largely been polygamy, in which the man gives
preference over the new wife as in the case of Ba’s Ramatoulaye in So
Long a Letter. Similarly, divorce has always been the end result of such
abandonment, which leads to the single mother struggle to make ends meet as in
the case of Adah in Second Class Citizen. The paper found that the
multiple forms of oppression and injustice, which both Ramatoulaye and Adah
suffer, exacerbate their marginalisation. Ramatoulaye, particularly, suffers
unequal treatment between her and the new wife, which creates enmity within the
polygamous family. Other forms of oppression in the two novels include coercion
based on patriarchal norms and family structures that systematically
privilege men. Although women contribute economically, they are denied control
over their earnings by such norms. They are thus coerced to give away their
earnings for the pleasure of the man who dictates the financial or career
choices. A significant resistance and reversal of roles is the resilience which
the women characters developed to deal with their challenges. Ramatoulaye and
Adah go against the cultural expectations that support their subordination and
coercion as wives to prioritize family over individual ambitions. They
challenge the physical and emotional violence that rifts unity and produces
bitterness amid family members by being strong and resilient to the domestic
violence they suffer.
6.1 Conclusion and Recommendations
In conclusion, the discussion revealed that the
oppression of wives in both novels is multidimensional and aligns with Young’s
five faces of oppression. Both protagonist female characters experience the
heavy toll of patriarchal injustice on women’s lives in Igbo and Senegalese
societies. They are exploited economically, marginalized socially, and after
divorce or abandonment, rendered powerless within the patriarchal families.
They are subjected to cultural imperialism that naturalizes their subordination,
and exposed to both physical and psychological violence. Both women exemplify
the struggles of working wives against systemic patriarchal injustice in
African societies. Also, the novels highlight powerlessness and marginalization
as women are abandoned or replaced by younger rivals often close to the age of
their children. Both heroines suffer disillusionment in their marriages leading
them to withdraw from any future relationships with men. Their experiences
demonstrate how patriarchal societies deprive women of agency, dignity and
economic security leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and neglect. The
patriarchal control in Igbo and Senegalese societies reduces women’s full
control of their own wages either directly or indirectly. The women were continually
exploited through domestic work and are responsible of family financial needs.
Moreover, the social appearances of oppressions are presented through the
approval of domestic violence to enforce obedience within marital
relationships. Frequently, women are subjected to beatings and slaps, making
their experience of marriage one marked by suffering. It can be determined that
women experience imperialism due to cultural ethics to maintain marriage, no
matter how difficult it is. As a result, women experience hardship in getting
divorce. Often connected to divorce is powerlessness; women suffer through the
abuse of powerlessness when marriage ends and husbands abandon their own
children, run away from fulfilling responsibilities. Patriarchal structures systematically
deny women justice even when they contribute economically in their matrimony.
It is vividly clear that working women endure hardship by being treated like
uneducated or slaves. It is true that love withers and fades away when coercion
persists. So, love marriage can end with bitterness. It has been acknowledged
that coercion of wives in the two novels is structural, culturally embedded,
and multifaceted, combining domination, exclusion, exploitation and violence.
Consequently, these injustices make coercion indistinguishable and socially
accepted, which the paper identifies as subtle yet inevitable form of
injustices.
The paper identified authorial intentions suggesting
and recommending that justice must address these multiple structural and
diverse cultural dominations that perpetrate women coercion. This is in order
to attain meaningful and acceptable gender fairness in marriage. It is,
therefore, recommended that the findings of this paper should form part of the
discourse on oppression of women in gender, feminist and sociological
discourses within the academia.
Works Cited
Ba, M. (1989). So
Long a Letter (M. Bode Thomas, Trans.). Heinemann.
Efe, C. J., &
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