Religio-cultural and poetic constructions of the subaltern African woman

Abstract

The colonial experience and particularly the introduction of Christianity and Islam in Africa altered the African socio-cultural fabric and ways of life. European and Arab missionaries diligently spread their religious beliefs which fused with some African cultural practices and ever since, determined the status of particularly African women. Suffice it to say that colonialism, Christianity and Islam masculinized any territory upon which they inflicted themselves and dismantled the matriarchal system that coexisted with patriarchy in some pre-colonial African societies. They also provided an ideological framework for the social roles of women. Besides, Negritude poetic constructions of African women largely contributed in cementing the subalternized image/roles of African women created by colonialism and religious prescriptions in their textual representations. These poets’ portrayal of African women as mothers, in terms of their nurturing capabilities, maintained them in an essentially problematic position