A PROPOSAL ON GENDER VIOLENCE

TITLE: GENDER VIOLENCE IN CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE’S PROSE

FICTONS

BY

GBENGA-ADEJORIN, PRECIOUS BOLUWATIFE

MATRIC NUMBER: RUN/ENG/19/8093

COURSE CODE: ENG 350

COURSE TITLE: RESEARCH METHODS

LEVEL: 300

LECTURER: DR FEMI ADEBAYO

ABSTRACT

Gender-based violence has become a major problem in the Nigerian society and other societies
all over the world. It has been rampant in the society especially among women in a patriarchal
society. Violence against an individual (women) has been a common issue which has not been
tackled. The patriarchal thirst for power has caused inequality between both genders in the
society, leading to oppression, subjectivity and domestic violence. Although, numerous studies
have been carried out to put an end to these inhumane activities and to solve the problem at hand.
This has opened up various arguments as to how the problem can best be tackled. This study
analyses traces of gender violence with reference to the Nigerian novel by Chimamanda Adichie
and how she presents the problem in her prose fictions: Purple Hibiscus (2003) and Half of a
Yellow Sun (2006). The choice of this text is purposive as they contain traces of gender violence
in them. This study therefore interrogates gender violence in these novels and how it affects the
female character and gender. The theoretical framework employed in this study is the Max
Weber’s power theory from the feminist perspective. This study is conducted through the
collection of data from selected novels such as the themes, online journals, thesis and databases
which examines the representation of characters through the feminist perspective. This study
discovers how culture and tradition serve as a strong factor that contributes to gender violence
this include wife-battery, male oppression in the home and so on. The socially constructed roles
also contribute to the domestic and social violence in a patriarchal society. The study concludes
that Chimamanda Adichie’s writing fights against gender violence and the treatment of women
as commodities.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The major purpose of this study is to deal with the problem of gender-violence in the
society today, to determine the prevalence, characteristics and reasons for domestic violence
against female adolescents and adults. The society can overcome this difficulty by ensuring equal
individual rights to both man and women this can be done by erasing the patriarchal system
entirely. This study discovers how women has been suffering from domination, oppression,
suppression, domestic violence and how female writers has been able to portray this through
their writing. The goal of this study is to bring women into a consciousness that they are not less
human, that they must not suffer in silence all because they are ruled by a patriarchal system,
they can be heard and liberated form these inhumane activities.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Gender violence has existed right from the beginning of mankind. It is a major problem
that is confronting major societies in the world today. Studies have shown that in most societies
where violence happens there is a code of silence involving the victim and perpetrator when it is
perpetrated (Walby: 1990). This means that the victim must not voice out, she would continue to
endure in silence or else, bear the consequences. There are various reasons why gender-based
violence continue to thrive in the society they include, unequal power relation between men and
women, biological differences between male and female, negative traditional and cultural
practices, discrimination and so on. Despite the increase in the number of victims, no conclusive
findings has been made concerning this problem. The importance of the study is to take a close
look at the selected novels as they depict gender-based violence and how they occur. It also show
how gender violence is portrayed through the eyes of a female writer. It seeks to interrogate the
issue of violence as it affects women. Although there are many African works about the society
such as poverty, bad governance, illiteracy etc, not much has been said about the reoccurring
problem of gender violence. This study therefore captures many issues of gender violence,
hence the significance of this study. It provides an insight into the world of violence as suffered
by women thereby hindering the growth of these females. There is need for this study since little
attention has been given to women writing about gender violence and so on. The author,
Chimamanda Adiche has portrayed instances of gender violence and the power between men and
women in her novel. This study therefore contributes to the field of gender criticism in Nigeria.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The specific focus of this study is to correct the gender-based violence that has been
rampant in the Nigerian society of today. About twenty-eight percent of Nigerian women aged
25-29 have experienced some form of physical violence since age 15. Gender-based violence has
hindered women in so many ways. A woman who is not enlightened about her individual rights
and is constantly abused is subjugated to a lot of things. She may be hindered from participating
in activities which could add to the growth and development of the society. This is unfortunate as
it is occurring amongst people in the productive age groups who are having to deal with the
negative and psychological consequences of gender-based violence. “Many of the women have
been beaten down and prevented from working and earning any income to keep them financially
dependent on the abuser,” Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia, CHELD’s founder and executive
director, said. Violence is accepted in the Nigerian Society and it has become a way of life in
some cultures which perceive women as the property of their husband. Acts of violence against
women are often intended to intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, threaten or hurt women and girls.
A close investigation into the study of gender-based violence has not been analyzed critically,
there is an absence of an analytical framework for analyzing violence as a tool of oppression.

Consequently, this study is important because it investigates the depiction of gender violence in
the Nigerian novel, the different forms of gender-based violence sighted in the novel, how
Adiche treats the phenomenon in her novel and how she provides the best solution to this
phenomenon. Since the study is of current interest, the society has decided to be open to any
form of violence. The estimated population affected by gender-based violence reports that thirty-
one percent of women in Nigeria have experienced violation of rights. The overall prevalence of
gender-based violence ranged from 42.3% and an estimated report shows that fifty-eight percent
of women has died due to domestic violence. This problem is a critical issue that has caused the
life of many innocent women. This study therefore identifies the problem of gender violence and
possible means to solve these problems.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY/ LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature is known to be the mirror of the society. It serves as a medium whereby

creative writers presents their experiences, issues in the society and also express their opinions
on them through their literary works. Women have always been faced with issues such as
inequality, subjugation, oppression, ill-treatment, physical and mental abuse, discrimination,
inhuman traditional and cultural practices, patriarchy among others in the society. Recently,
much attention has been given to women who have decided to rise up to a consciousness and
fight for their own equal rights. These Nigerian feminist writers have become more interested in
destroying the patriarchal system so they opened up critical debates and arguments on how to
stop the oppression of women, they examined the way in which men behave, particularly to
women.
 Most women authored work include the concept of gender, violence in their works to
erase the mentality that women must be oppressed, subjugated and treated unfairly. There is an
urgent need to explore gender violence because it has become a major problem in the society
today and a new area of investigation in literary criticism. This study therefore interrogates the
gender-based violence among women in general and to Adichie’s novels in particular.

The term gender is used interchangeably with the term sex. Scholars have differentiated
them and concluded that the term sex is the biological characteristics that define human as male
or female while gender is the economic, political and cultural attributes associated with being
male or female. Thus, gender-based violence is a phenomenon which is rooted in gender
inequality. It is the violence or brutality directed against a person because of their gender. It
constitutes a breach of fundamental right to life, liberty, security, equality between men and
women. Both men and women experience gender-based violence but the majority of victims are
women and girls who are exposed to domestic violence, rape, sexual violence, harmful practices
and so on.

Gender in Nigeria in 2012 concludes that violence against women is not a new problem
in Nigeria. Rather, it is found to be deeply rooted in many cultural and traditional values which is
regarded as anormal behavior or remains hidden or tacitly condoned (Nnadi 2012). Violation
against women is perceived as the most pervasive violation of human rights (United Nation
Secretary General, 2009). This research focuses on the depiction of violence in the writing of
Adiche because various studies have shown that women more than men are recipients of various
forms of violence because of the discrimination they have faced. Although the issue of women’s
oppression has been a major theme in African literature, little attention has been paid to gender-
based violence as a form of oppression against women in these writings. Despite all of these,
female authors still portray their female characters in more positive and active roles. For
instance, in Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, Adiche depicts issues affecting the
Nigerian society through her female characters. She emphasizes the role of women and the
problems they face in her work. She portrays that there should be equal individual right and
freedom among men and women to motivate and to give hope to them.

Kivai in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun investigates
how Adichie is able to include African men in her plan to terminate human hardship and in
addition, women exploitation and oppression. In Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus, she talks about the
abuses of a father over his wife and children. She also explores the abuses of a military regime
among Nigerian citizens. In Half of a Yellow Sun, she recounts the political events that led to the
Nigerian civil war and the role of women in that difficult period, she illustrates the nature of
violence in the war time and how it affected women. In relation to other study, this research
therefore interrogates the various faces of violence as it affects the female and the society in
generalEmecheta (2010) in Joys of Motherhood and Second-Class Citizen talks about female
experiences in a society dominated by patriarchal views and how women coped in the harsh
environment they found themselves be it violence or brutality. In Joys of Motherhood, Emecheta
traces gender inequality in the Igbo society. For instance, Oshia the son of Nnu Ego refuses to
fetch water for his step mother, emphasizing that he is a boy and the job is meant for a woman.
Another illustration in the novel is where Adankwo, the widow inherited by Nnaife declares that
Oshia is equal to the worth of five girls put together. The patriarchal nature of many African
societies value men more than women, hence the ill treatment given to them. They view men to
be superior to the female.

The patriarchal nature of the African tradition is also visible in the marital institution. In
the societal setting, a woman is seen to be incomplete until she is married to man. Since she is
married to a man, she becomes his property and he is allowed to treat her in any manner. Thus,
marriage becomes an avenue for violence. An example is sighted in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
where one of Okonkwo’s wife is battered for not serving his food on time. Chimamanda also
treads this path when she portrays the character of Beatrice and the domineering figure of her
husband Eugene who violently attacks her and their children at every opportunity. The character
of Beatrice shows how women challenge patriarchy and asserts their positions in the society.
This is a concordance in (Weber’s 1947) where he portrayed power as a factor of domination.
This means that Eugene the bread winner of his family used force to rule his family through the
power bestowed unto him. In contrast, Beatrice his wife allowed herself to be victimized by her
husband until she took matters in her hands for change to come by challenging her husband. In
her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, Adiche talked about sexual violence which is also an
issue on gender-based violence. This aspect of gender violence is often a taboo in many literary
works but Adichie exposes these ugly aspects in her works as one form of oppression against
women.
 This study exposes the harsh treatments given to women, it erases the mentality of
women being classified as second-class citizens and also enlighten the society about the possible
outcomes of these gender-based violent activities.

BENEFITS OF THE STUDY

The benefit of this study is to provide people with the tools to understand the causes of
gender violence in their communities and to educate people, (precisely women) in the
community to work to prevent such violence. One notable benefit of the study would be that the
female right violation would be abolished that is women would enjoy their rights equally with
men. Also, any form of violence would be addressed accordingly and actions would be taken to
secure an individual’s right.

The study would also promote gender equality, to prevent violence against women and
girls. Since gender inequality is the root cause of violence, this study will show that gender
equality can make our communities safer if only the patriarchal society is overthrown.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of this research is to examine the existence of gender violence in the Nigerian
society, and its depiction in Chimamanda Adichie’s writing. This research is based on the fact
that literature is the center of the society whereby societal issues are analyzed with the view of
making the society better. Since gender-based violence has become a problematic issue in the
Nigerian society, this research interrogates the issues in two selected novels of Chimamanda
Adichie and captures the essence of gender discourse. The objectives for this study show that in
most contemporary female writing, the female gender is often a victim of various forms of
violence. The female character is one to undergo physical, emotional and mental abuse. The text
selected for this study show that cultural and traditional practices is responsible for sex
differentiation, inequality and creation of gender identities. Lastly, socially constructed roles
contribute to domestic and social violence in a patriarchal society

METHODOLOGY

This research follows a textual and descriptive method of analysis based on the use of
library research and textual analysis. The textual (primary) sources include Chimamanda
Adichie’s: Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. The library (secondary) research includes
several academic articles on gender violence, e-books, journals, books on feminism, power
theories and so on. Asides all this, Chimamanda Adichie’s novel form a basic material for this
research. The analytical framework used in this research are Radical Feminist literary criticism
and Max Weber’s Power theory.

The aim of this research is carried out using the Radical Feminist Theory and Max
Weber’s Power theory. These theories analyses the patriarchal power over women, one which is
unjust and illegitimate. The radical feminism as a theoretical framework argues that women’s
oppression stems from being categorized as inferior to men on the basis of gender. Therefore,
radical feminism aims to destroy a sex-classed system and overthrowing patriarchy. It focusses
on the root of male domination and claims that all forms of oppression are extensions of male
supremacy. Hyden and Manssojn (2007 p.267) explain that radical feminism theory is based on
an analysis of society’s power structure. This theory argues that the existing power is a polarized
patriarchy which means that women get subjugated because the society operates under a
patriarchal system. Very often radical feminism looks for possible ways to end female
subjugation. According to Valerie Bryson (1999) radical feminists see women as an oppressed
group who had to struggle for their own liberation against the oppressors (men). Thus, radical
feminism is concerned with the rights of women rather than gender inequality, this is why they
aim at challenging the gender power structure and overthrowing it.

According to Marx (1974), power is concentrated in the hands of those who have
economic control in the society. Max Weber’s Power theory divides authority into three parts.
The traditional authority, charismatic and legal authority. The traditional authority is the type of
authority that is invested in the beliefs of the established customs and traditions. Those in
authority command obedience on the basis of their traditional status which is usually inherited.
This study would only adopt the traditional authority because it is the most suitable when
analyzing the selected novels. In analyzing the theme of gender violence, the theories stated
above would be applied because hey examine people’s ability to enforce their will on others even
if they are resisting, they appear hungry and thirsty for control and power to oppress and
subjugate. The perpetuators for this illegitimate act are the men while the victims are the women.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

 The scope of this study interrogates the nature of gender-based violence as depicted in
two novels: Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. This study examines the ill treatment
given to women through violent acts as stated in the novel. The focus is not only on the problem
but how to solve these problems. The research therefore examines how Adichie was able to use
characterization and other literary devices to depict some of the ills in the society. This research
cold not go as far as interviewing women who might have experience gender violence in one
way or the other but it made references to journals, articles and many others which relate to the
purpose of the study. The Radical feminist theory and Max Weber’s theory of power is also used
to analyze issues affecting the female gender which could be oppression and suppression.

WORK PLAN

The work plan shows the duration in which every task must be implemented. The
duration of the research would be from the month of June to December following some
scheduled activities. In the month of June: planning and preparative work including development
of questionnaire would be implemented. In July, there would be recruitment of research
personnel who would assist in the research project, training of research assistant, pre-testing and
finalization of the questionnaire. In the third month (August), there would be a collection of data
from various sources such as literary text, online databases, field work research and so on. In the
fourth month, there would be a preparation of data processing such as editing, coding and data
entry. In the fifth month, there would be preparation for data analysis and report writing. In the
sixth month, the report would be finalized and in the seventh month, there would be a
presentation and dissemination of the report.

BUDGET

The amount of money required for this study is twenty thousand naira only. Five
thousand naira would be for the materials such as textbooks, equipment and supplies that are
required for this research. The research would embark on a field trip to other states to interview
various individuals who have experienced gender violence and the travel cost for this is ten
thousand naira. The remaining five thousand naira would be for other miscellaneous expenses
such as printing and so on.
REFERENCES

Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

Buchi Emecheta’s Joys of Motherhood

www.systematicreviewsjournal.com : Gender-based violence among female youths in

educational institutions

www.eige.europa.eu what is gender-based violence

Max Weber’s theory of power www.triumphias.com

Patriarchal society defined according to feminism www.thoughtco.com

Gender violence in literary works.