An African Feminist Reading of Wole Soyinka

Feminist scholars have often debated the portrayal of women in Wole Soyinka’s works, who typically navigate patriarchal societies.

Written by Olabanke Goriola

Aug 25, 2024

Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel, performed by the National Drama Company of Guyana, 2017. AMANDA RICHARDS / FLICKR.

African feminist scholars, such as Molara Ogundipe, Amina Mama, Furaha-Joy Sekai Saungweme, Fatoumata Keita, Wanjiru Nguhi, Oyeronke Oyewumi, and Nkiru Nzegwu have sought ways to address issues of inequality on the African continent from the perspective of power relations. They have advocated for philosophies and politics that push for substantive equality between men and women while simultaneously challenging patriarchal domination and the heteronormativity of the post-colonial state. In their works, these scholars have articulated that although women played a central role as social agitators in the African liberation from the bondage of colonialism, African patriarchy, which scholar, Furaha Saungweme, refers to as a ‘common thread of both colonial and post-colonial times’ still holds us behind.

Tracing the works of Nigerian feminists, Nkoyo Toyo and OluTimehin Adegbeye, and South African feminists, Mase Ramaru and Elsbeth Engelbrecht, one quickly observes that gender-based inequality and violence rooted in colonization are intensely woven into the contemporary fabric of African societies and are perpetuated through African patriarchal post-colonial governance. I follow these scholars’ articulation of the importance of African feminism as a crucial framework to contest traditional gender roles and innovate strategies to advance fundamental structural change for women to be full actors in the development of the African continent. Reading the works of Wole Soyinka through an African feminist lens provides a critical perspective on the patriarchal structures embedded within the traditional Yoruba society, the marginalization of women and how women navigate within the constraints of a patriarchal society.

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About the Author

Olabanke Goriola

is a multi-disciplinary artist-scholar and PhD Candidate in Performance Studies at Northwestern University, Evanston, USA.

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An African Feminist Reading of Wole Soyinka