Date of Award
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
First Advisor
Jennifer Kidwell
Second Advisor
Itziar Barrio
Third Advisor
Caden Manson
Abstract
Throughout Nigeria’s history, Igbo women have contended with violence from colonial and imperialist forces and misogyny from the Igbo men in their communities. In solidarity with one another, Igbo women have continued to fight back to ensure their voices are heard in politics and access to professional careers. The Nigerian- and Igbo-American playwright Ngozi Anyanwu writes about Igbo women who assert themselves and maintain their agency throughout cultural and interpersonal conflicts, similar to these historical strategies. Anyanwu’s plays The Homecoming Queen, Good Grief, and My Name…is Beatrice feature women dealing with grief, sexual trauma, and access to reproductive healthcare between Nigerian and American societies. There is evidence that these examples of solidarity in struggle can be considered feminist in nature. Taking care not to force a definition onto an entire culture, I highlight aspects of feminism within Igbo culture and Anyanwu’s works to better understand feminism within an Igbo context.
Recommended Citation
Awachie, Chisom, "Contextualizing Feminism Within Igbo History And An Analysis Of The Works Of Ngozi Anyanwu" (2023). Theatre Thesis - Written Thesis. 14.
https://digitalcommons.slc.edu/theatre_written/14
Included in
Acting Commons, African American Studies Commons, African Languages and Societies Commons, Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons