sempozyum_bildiri_kitabi

I am sure, frustration and hardship will kill me in this house. I have never been allowed
to see my parents in all the years I have been married to you. I would prefer slavery to the
unpleasant condition I am facing. I have given birth to five children all stillbirth; the only
one living has been separated from me for several years and whenever I give out my
money so that he can be brought back home, a new bride is brought in instead of my
child. What have I done to deserve this treatment? 12
In reply Mallam accused her of jealousy and said; “I own you as well as what you own. I have the
right to use your money to take a new wife. You can go ahead and die of jealousy.” 13>
This confrontation so much destabilized Indo who was anemic and she went into premature
labor. With no help in sight she labored and suffered for several days. Most people insinuated that
she was being punished by God for challenging her husband. Psychologically, she also believed what
people claimed. The pains made her go down on her knees to appeal to her husband for forgiveness.
As an antidote, “Mallam’s garments which had been unwashed for about two weeks were soaked in
a big bowl of water, the water turned very brown and thick due to dirt and she was given to
drink.” 14>; this it is believed will bring her fast relief. A man’s world no doubt. Miraculously the next
day, Indo delivered a still birth and she died the next day due to complications.
The emir’s town where Fatima later married after her separation from Bashir her foster brother
was guided by strict traditional and cultural norms. The man is the head of the family and the leader
of all affairs. Forced marriage is considered a normal thing and divorce at the slightest offence
committed by the wife is not strange. Embarrassing and disgracing women is a normal thing.
Whenever a woman does something the men consider wrong, her male children are often told by his
father to, “bear with what the mother is doing because women are brainless and lack focus” 15> .
Subsequently women are looked down upon and treated as insignificant beings because of this
belief. Thus women have so little importance that they are considered not only stupid but also
unintelligent.
In Mace Mutum, a woman's respectability and worth lies in her ability to produce children. The
more children she can bear, the more she is respected and valued by the husband. As soon as Fatima
got pregnant for the emir, his joy knew no bounds. But like in other African societies, it was not
enough for one to bear children; it is the male ones that are preferred because female children are
said to grow, fly out and go to help in building another family while male children stay, marry and
uphold their father's name. Fatima’s life became in total disarray and confusion when the emir
turned against her and her daughter after she had given birth because according to the emir’s
advisers;
An emir only gives birth to an heir apparent. In a royal household, the male child
always comes first and then he is followed by the female. This girl‐child belongs to the
mother. A female child cannot rule over a kingdom 16 .
This pronouncement changed her life forever. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when
the once loving emir looked at Fatima and said; “Why not save yourself the humiliation and tell me
who the father of this girl is; I promise to allow you marry your lover” 17> .
Deceived, maltreated, humiliated and abused first her father, her first husband Bashir, his lawyer
friend, her second husband the emir and the society at large, Fatima lost all hope in life. The men in
her life are seen to so much destabilize the thinking faculty of Fatima and other women which
subsequently outweighs the mental thinking of the women who are kept in perpetual fear of the
unknown.
We therefore see that the lives of the female characters revolving round marriage and
procreation only; it is the depiction of a life, which is considered incomplete without life partners or
children especially male children. Women are forced to live in men’s bondage, and women’s
identities are defined only by their fathers, brothers, husbands or sons, but, never by themselves.
“This adversely weakens their position in society.” 18> The single most gripping factor of female