Addressing the Evils of Sexism: The Example of Alkali in the Virtuous Woman (2006)

Abstract

The primitive idea, culturally construed that male sex is superior to female sex has conveniently penetrated itself to the modern Africa particularly Nigeria:  a country in the western part of the content.  The effects of sexism are felt in almost every sphere of life.  This is heavily pronounced in the area of education most especially in the colonial era and to a reasonable extent in the post-colonial period.  This has made the women fold to suffer a conspicuous set almost in most every human endeavour. Men are heard everywhere.  The   need for women to realise their potentials so that they can be more useful to themselves and contribute meaningfully to their community led to series of educative campaign against sexism: a major fall out of patriarchy.  Literary artists are very significant in this regard, the example of Alkali in the Virtuous Woman.  The paper examines such effort as revealed in the novel particularly that, such awareness and education given are yielding results.  In recent time, evidences abound which, prove that both men and women have the natural ability to do well in education if given the opportunity. The fact that some Nigerians in real life, in spite of the enlightenments and the development so far still behave like Dogo in Alkali’s The Virtuous Woman makes sexism remains a challenge which, should be overcome.