Tale of an African Woman II , livre ebook
358
pages
English
Ebooks
2024
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358
pages
English
Ebooks
2024
Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus
Publié par
Date de parution
01 juillet 2024
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9789956554034
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
2 Mo
With great enthusiasm and optimism, Yaya leaves her village of Yakiri for Yamade, the nation's capital, to attend university. However, her dreams of a blissful life quickly fade. Yaya's journey begins on treacherous roads, patrolled by gun-toting and corrupt gendarmes and policemen, forewarning the challenges ahead. Upon arriving in Yamade, she narrowly escapes being robbed of all her money. The capital, far from the glamour she imagined, starkly contrasts extremely wealthy neighbourhoods with poverty-stricken, pestilential shantytowns. Forced to reside in a township specifically for underprivileged students, she is exposed to many dangers and becomes victim of two instances of sexual assault and contracts cerebral malaria. Despite these immense hardships, she remains resolute, navigating treacherous social and political landscapes to graduate from university with a law degree. She joins a female organization fighting for women's rights, transforming it into a powerful political party. Her goal: to dismantle the oppressive system that nearly broke her. Through teamwork and strategic maneuvering, she rises to become the president of her country, Mungo. Yaya's journey stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of foresight, courage, and determination that characterizes the struggles of African women in the face of injustice.
Voir
Publié par
Date de parution
01 juillet 2024
EAN13
9789956554034
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
2 Mo
Tale of an African Woman II Thomas JingL a ng a a R esea rch & P u blishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda
Publisher:LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon Langaagrp@gmail.com www.langaa-rpcig.net
Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective orders@africanbookscollective.com www.africanbookscollective.com
ISBN-13: 978-9956-554-03-4
©Thomas Jing 2024
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or be stored in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher
Table of Contents Chapter 1:...............................................................................................1Chapter 2:..............................................................................................6Chapter 3:.............................................................................................16Chapter 4:............................................................................................24Chapter 5:............................................................................................28Chapter 6:............................................................................................33Chapter 7:............................................................................................40Chapter 8:............................................................................................49Chapter 9:............................................................................................57Chapter 10:..........................................................................................64Chapter 11:..........................................................................................77Chapter 12:..........................................................................................83Chapter 13:..........................................................................................94Chapter 14:........................................................................................104Chapter 15:........................................................................................107Chapter 16:.........................................................................................116Chapter 17:.........................................................................................121Chapter 18:........................................................................................129Chapter 19:........................................................................................132Chapter 20:.......................................................................................135Chapter 21:........................................................................................138
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Chapter 22:.......................................................................................142Chapter 23:.......................................................................................148Chapter 24:.......................................................................................158Chapter 25:.......................................................................................162Chapter 26:.......................................................................................166Chapter 27:.......................................................................................173Chapter 28:.......................................................................................178Chapter 29:.......................................................................................189Chapter 30:.......................................................................................196Chapter 31:........................................................................................206Chapter 32:........................................................................................211Chapter 33:.......................................................................................222Chapter 34:.......................................................................................226Chapter 35:.......................................................................................232Chapter 36:.......................................................................................239Chapter 37:.......................................................................................247Chapter 38:.......................................................................................249Chapter 39:.......................................................................................259Chapter 40:.......................................................................................261Chapter 41:........................................................................................269Chapter 42:.......................................................................................272Chapter 43:.......................................................................................280Chapter 44:.......................................................................................288
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Chapter 45:.......................................................................................296Chapter 46:.......................................................................................300Chapter 47:.......................................................................................308Chapter 48:........................................................................................311Chapter 49:.......................................................................................315Chapter 50:.......................................................................................323Chapter 51:........................................................................................327Chapter 52:.......................................................................................335Chapter 53:.......................................................................................342Chapter 54:.......................................................................................347
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Chapter 1 It is more than a fortnight since I had an interview with Shannon. She has come all the way from Ireland, where she works as a reporter for the renowned newspaper,The Dubliner. She has come to share in my story. In our era in which men pretty much control everything, I have defied the odds to be elected the first female head of state of my country, Mungo. At first, I did not appreciate the full magnitude of the importance of what I had accomplished, until I began receiving mails from women in other parts of the world congratulating me. Among the letters I received, was that of the journalist; and in her letter, she requested to meet with me in order to collect my story for her readers. When we first met, I did not think that we could exhaust the entire story in one sitting. African stories tend to be very long and twisted. They are even more so when they involve the lives of women. The story of my life has numerous pieces that I think only really make sense when they are made to fit neatly into an elaborate tapestry. It was in the light of this circumstance that we agreed to meet two times. Tonight, we are meeting again for the second part of the story. After our first meeting, I was convinced that she needed some time to put together that segment of the narrative. This was to ensure that if she needed clarification on anything that had come up during our discussion, then we would have it reviewed before embarking on the second phase. Having traveled such a long distance to come to me, the least I could do was to ensure that she got her story right. In preparation for the meeting, I decide to make a quick review of some ongoing developments, as well as key points we had discussed. Even though she wanted me to recount the story of my life, she made it clear right from the start that she was particularly interested in the challenges I encountered as a woman in my long and difficult journey from birth to the presidency. With this feminist perspective in mind, I want to get my facts correct, just in case there are certain things that need elaboration. The first part of my story had traced my roots from Bankim, a village far up in the north, where my people were
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forced to leave because of an ancestral curse put on them. In their community, lived a certain woman who was the very quintessence of healthy competition and excellence in the manner she conducted her affairs. For displaying these qualities, she was perceived as being too “obtrusive.” This was another way of saying that she was doing what most men could not do. As her punishment, she was isolated and treated so badly that she became crazy and eventually died. In a bid to avenge the act of injustice and cruelty that she had suffered, my ancestors put a curse on the inhabitants of Bankim. Their village was invaded and razed to the ground. The destruction marked the beginning of an exodus of its people. After rambling and suffering for numerous decades, they eventually founded Yakiri. The settlement was named after Yaa, the aggrieved female ancestor, as a show of remorse and a gesture of atonement. It was in this village that I was born and raised. My own trials and tribulations as a woman in it clearly showed that my people had still not fully learned from the error of their own past. My mother had her happiness stolen from her by being forced into an arranged marriage. Even though this trend ran throughout my people’s history like a golden thread, in her case it had very tragic consequences. Both of my parents died early in circumstances I expatiated upon in the first part of my story. Orphaned at a tender age, I might never have had any story to recount, let alone one in which I am the president of a country. But I was lucky to have my grandparents, who adopted and doted on me. In fact, their excessive concern for my wellbeing came close to destroying me. Even though their contribution was great, I do not consider it the most outstanding aspect in my early life. And I am not alone! People who watched me grow unequivocally rank Fr. Sean higher than my grandparents in terms of importance in my story. He is an Irish cleric, the first white man to step foot in my village. It is he who started the first school there; but what is more, he campaigned hard for young girls to be educated. I was the greatest beneficiary of that campaign. I was not only sent to school at a time when most women were deprived of that right, but he actually took me under his wings and assisted me throughout my academic journey.
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Now, as l look back, I am inclined to think that God made him for me. Anyone is free to challenge my assumption, but those who choose to do so should not forget the importance of the education of women in the development of any community. Even though my grandparents have always been there for me, they initially did not stand by me on the very crucial issue of education. I am not surprised at all by their attitude. Their vision of what they considered good for me did not transcend the narrow, and often skewed, scope set by the tradition and customs of my people. My enrolment at the university in particular was so controversial and divisive in the village that it required the combined approval of the Roman Catholic priest and a renownedgnukwabe, or what Westerners often refer to as a “witchdoctor,” to tip the balance in my favor. Once the community was converted to my cause, my grandmother spent the remaining days I had to be in the village giving me some advice. It was something she did from time to time; except that this time, she deemed the moment more urgent than ever before. She warned me that most men saw women as elephant meat; and that they believed that all they required was a sharp knife to secure their own portion. She then added that women who kept their legs closed never ended up with unwanted pregnancies. How can I forget the little dialogue between us! “A snake only enters into an open hole!” she began. “What do you mean, grandma?” I asked, perplexed. “Sometimes, I don’t understand you when you start using proverbs.” “I know, so let me be blunt. You do not need to waste time and money, let alone to travel all the way to Yamade, to end up with a fatherless child,” she cautioned with a smile. “In our community, there are men, many of them, who will do a better job.” Even though she emphasized the need for me to be careful, she did not think it wise for a woman to stop dealing with men. Rather, she exhorted me to beat them at their own game in order to get what I wanted in life. She taught me courage, noting that most people are too impressed by what they see.
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