Daughters of Anowa (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780883449998)

Daughters of Anowa provides an analysis of the lives of African women today from an African woman's own perspective. It is a study of the influence of culture and religion - particularly of traditional African cultures and Christianity - on African women's lives. Mercy Amba Oduyoye illustrates how myths, proverbs, and folk tales (called "folktalk") operate in the socialization of young women, working to preserve the norms of the community. Daughters of Anowa reveals how global patriarchy manifests itself in these social structures, in both patrilineal and matrilineal communities. Organized as a narrative in three cycles, Daughters of Anowa demonstrates how folktalk alienates women from power, discourages individuality and encourages conformity. It also considers the possibilities for the future. Oduyoye posits that change will come about only when the daughters of Anowa (the mythic representative of Africa itself) confront the realities of culture and religion in perpetuating patriarchal oppression and work to realize the goal of a new woman in a new Africa.

Author: Mercy Amba Oduyoye
ISBN-10: 0883449994
ISBN-13: 9780883449998
Publisher: Orbis Books
Language: English
Published: 03/10/2005
Pages: 240
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.61lbs
Size: 8.25h x 5.46w x 0.49d