CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study is to exemplify Julie Okoh’s The Trials as a feminist text
Scope of Study
This research is limited to Julie Okoh’s text The Trials. The study examine the basic memorable of a feminist text which are, strong memorable female character, the portrayal of women as having innate goodness and genuine concern for the family especially the children; portrayal of women as bring instrumental to positive change in improving the society economically and finally, the presence of power relation and call for change in the status’ of women as critical responses of the women to a society dominated by the men-folk
Methodology
This work is qualitative and is women around the text The Trials by Julie Okoh’s as the primary source. Other source included journals articles and books.
Theoretical Background
The theory on which this work is based is the feminist theory of literacy criticism.
According to Ann B. Dobie (a writer and theorist the author of theory into practice) the feminist movement stretches back into the ninetieth century the feminist lenses began to develop only in the early 1960’s.
Feminism Encyclopedia Americana 1920’s defines feminism as a collection of ideas and movement aimed at defining, establishing and defending equal political, economic and social right of women and men. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunity for women in education and career (Wikipedia “feminism” collier new Encyclopedia 1921)
Feminism therefore is an ideological movement that aims at advocating the economic, social and political equality of men and women in the society. Therefore if frowns at oppression of women by men.
Feminism is a concept that thrives to give recognition to women’s capability and right to determine and change a new society. It demands that women should not be judged by their sex. It is geared towards correcting the situation in the society in which a women cannot hold certain positions and jobs or have a say in the affairs of the state because of her gender.
According to Judith Burdick, feminism is an outright and explicit rejection of the life style created by strong coercive norms. She further state that:
“That advocacy of the furtherance of women’s right interest and equality with men in social, political and economic sphere (588).Feminism indeed advocates that a women has the right and freedom from male domination and therefore can decide her own destiny. This concept sees the women as being able to makes her own decision knowing what is good for her as well as what is bad. This movement also held that women should break new grand and let herself be trampled upon by men.
Book encyclopedia…..(vol ii) defines feminism as
“That belief that women should have economic political and social right equality with men. The movement could also be called women’s Liberation or women’s movement” (46).Feminism is out to destiny the concept, however grounded in religious, economic or biological superiority over women, Brudwick also states that feminism.
“Is a psychological revaluation based on women’s insistence that they have basic right to make choices and be judge as individuals”.Furthermore, the concerted effort by women to end their travail was proof to the world that their contribution to the societal development would be Barren if they are socially, politically and economically deprived in any form. Therefore, for peace and stability to reign thewy desire to be treaded like their male counterpart. This protect and demand laid the foundation for feminism. It focuses don eradicatsing gender inequality and promoting women right, interest and issues in the society.
Feminism began with the coming of many wollstone craft’s A vindication of the right of women. In the text she state how “women are stripped of virtue that should cloth humanity then are decked with artificial graces that enable them exercise a short lived tyranny” (142) from that statement it is justifiable to state that a women’s essential worth sterms from her common humanity and does not depend on any thing else
In Nigeria, the first feminist movement or idea dates back to the Aba women Roit (1926) which was an event fashioned towards the emaicipation of women. Apart from the event in Nigeria we also have the Beijing women conference in china which focuses on the plight of women and the action needed to improve their let. The struggle to end discrimination of sexes stereotyping and male domination should not be considered a one-man race, rather, it calls for a group struggle. The man reigns in the have while women are stripped of their dignity and made object of men’s lust and pleasure. Hence feminism grew to destroy these vices in the society. But Africa is yet to witness radical feminism, hence Alice Waker in the text The Nature of Black Feminism state that: