IMAGES OF WOMEN IN AFRICAN ORAL LITERATURE

This book explores the images of women in Africanoral literature. For girl children in particular theimages of women are seen as performing the role oftraining the girl child into patriarchal society's ideal woman-described in this book as the virtuouswoman. This is the kind of woman who is not aggressive but coy; notboisterous but quiet;not assertive but compromising thereforeeasily contained within the male armpit. Using Abakhayo oral poetry asits case study this work lays bare society's view of womenand girl children. In particular the work serves as an eye-opener tothe patriarchal society's expectations of women and the attempt tonurture them towards the very expectations. After reading throughthis book one learns that women in a patriarchal African setup areas a matter of speaking stateless. The book is recommended forscholars students and researchers in Oral LiteratureSociology Gender Studies and Anthropology at universities and othertertiary institutions.