Research article

Women are not Marginalized: A Critical Interpretation of Uche Nwaozuzu’s Ajari

Abstract

The conceptualization of gender roles within the African milieu has been institutionalized from the patriarchal viewpoint of which Igboland is inclusive. The counter narratives of gender discourse is what informed the nexus of this research in an attempt to put the records straight. Relying on Uche Nwaozuzu’s Ajari as paradigm, the research explores the qualitative method of analyzing and interpreting this play text within the Igbo context and setting. This study adopts the cultural theory that breathers on the explanation of literary texts within the context of their sociocultural consciousness and political awareness. Insisting that the Igbo women are not marginalized as many posit, the research affirms that they possess political, social and religious powers as opposed to the myth of women marginalization in Africa and beyond. Hence, the situation of the female gender in a typical Igbo society is likened to a bottleneck system whereby the head (man) is dependent on the neck (woman). This paper concludes that women in the Igboland have powers politically and socially as well as revered against the general conception of African women.