Colonialism In Buchi Emecheta's The Joys Of Motherhood

Colonialism describes the practice of domination; it involves the subjugation of one people to another. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Nigerians– like many other Africans– experienced the impact of colonial settlers in their land. These colonial masters introduced education, Christianity and industrialization. Nonetheless, they remodeled the culture of the Africans: families were separated, natural and human resources were depleted, traditional African beliefs were rejected, to mention but a few. In the Joys of Motherhood, Buchi Emecheta highlights the impact of colonialism on African women; she addresses the life of colonial Nigerians through a feminist lens. The Joys of Motherhood thus offers an assessment of patriarchal and colonial constraints faced by mothers like Nnu Ego (the protagonist) whose social value rested upon their serviceability in a male dominated society. …show more content…
Rural Ibuza was a traditional town where people still practiced their indigenous ways of life. Most people were farmers, and polygyny was a common practice. Urban Lagos, on the other hand, lost its folk ways as a result of the settlement of the Europeans. Nigerians in Lagos had to adapt to Christianity in order to secure jobs, male children were enrolled in school, and women had to establish small businesses in order to maintain their household. Additionally, Lagos had more diverse and monogamous population. It is undoubtable that both Lagos and Ibuza were patriarchal societies. However, women in Ibuza generally faced less hardships in relation to their responsibilities as wives, daughters, or