Flora Nwapa/Womanist(1931-1993)

I remember reading Flora Nwapa's novel, Efuru, at age 11 and being enthralled by the beautiful, financially independent female protagonist who suffers many tragic events. Efuru had it all except it seems, the inability to keep a man and to raise a child. The only child she had died at infancy.

It wasn't so much the tragedy that seemed to surround her that fascinated me, it was her strong spirit and her ability to take responsibility for herself. She was the epitome of the modern woman. Efuru's cultural background, the world surrounded by spirits and other mystical elements was African. Her independence was a reflection of who she was as an African woman. Many people assume that all African societies were patriarchal or male dominated before the Europeans came, but this is not true. When one does a thorough study of the history of different African socieites, they will discover that many of them had a high regard for women. They believed in the Masculine/Feminine polarity, what the East calls Ying/Yang . The genders had their different roles but they viewed each other as equal.

As a child my mother told me stories of our cultural heritage. How a woman for example could get a divorce whenever she wanted to just by saying the word and that she had the choice to keep the children or let her husband have them with little complications. She also said women held jobs, mainly trading jobs (just like Efuru). They had thier own societies where they could voice thier concerns freely. Women were not only protected, they were also highly respected. Domestic abuse was not tolerated and if reported had severe consequences for the man.

This sort of cultural fact (which has remained unchanged in many areas) is not often talked about. Many are focused on areas in Africa were women are victimized and treated like second class citizens. This is not authentic African culture. Flora Nwapa's book which was published in 1966 and was the first novel to come out of Africa by a woman allowed people to take a peak into the authentic african woman, what she was, what she has the potential to be and what she is once again becoming. She is definitely my hero =)