Role of Women in African and Indian Society

Both Things Fall Apart and Nectar in a Sieve weave rather vivid imagery of the life of women in the traditional, patriarchal society of Africa and India during the colonial period. The vividness of the images of cultures where a great deal of importance was placed on women bearing sons and devoting their lives to the care of their families, leads the modern day reader to easily conclude that women in traditional African and Indian cultures were without any voice and far too oppressed. While there is ample evidence in both works to validate such a conclusion, there is a strong case to counter argue that women in both works are also shown as playing an important social role and depicted as possessing a great deal of strength of character. For one, women in African and Indian rural cultures seem to have...
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