There is something special about a woman who dominates a man’s world: an African feminist critique of women characters in indlal’Inamanyala (obscenity) (1994)

Abstract

The (re)production of women in isiXhosa literature cannot be disjointed from the social realities that women experience. Young girls are no exception to this view. In fact, women’s issues could be regarded as pertinent to such an extent that dialogues concerning them ought to be initiated within isiXhosa scholarly discourses, among other platforms. This is against the reality that women have often been sidelined, especially in African literature as well as in the broader African social context, thus, there is an urgent demand to celebrate their voices today and tomorrow. With this in mind, this article aims to critique how women are depicted in Indlal’Inamanyala (Obscenity) (1994). By the same token, the objective is to comprehend how women’s realities are made visible and/or invisible in this isiXhosa drama. An African feminist theory is applied to uncover and discourse identified women’s issues and their (un)silenced voices. The findings and discussions indicate that women’s constructive contributions to society continue to be downplayed because of certain legacies of colonialism, apartheid, and traditional systems. The conclusion underlines the necessity to draw an interconnectedness between women and isiXhosa literature in an effort to address and mitigate the persisting injustices that adversely affect women in South Africa and elsewhere in the global village.

Keywords:

• African feminist theory
• critique
• isiXhosa literature
• male-orientated
• women

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Oliver Nyambi, University of the Free State, South Africa

SUBJECTS:

• Gender
• African Literature
• Women

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mlamli Diko

Mlamli Diko is a lecturer at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in the Department of African Languages. Specifically, he lectures on the language and literature of isiXhosa. His research interests predominantly focus on indigenous African languages, traditional and modern literature, Indigenous African Knowledge Systems (IAKS), and issues concerning colonialism, apartheid, and its influence in the South African context. He also debates, scholarly, issues that pertain to women and young girls in an attempt to uncover women and young girls’ voices. He has published several original research articles in DHET-accredited journals. In the process, he serves as a supervisor and external examiner for postgraduate students.