In each of these slice-of-life stories, Nyang pays equal attention to her protagonists’ emotional lives and the decisions they make in the light of their social pressures and economic realities. In doing so, she also challenges patriarchal norms, however her critiques are measured. Take for instance, the matter of laabaan, a Wolof marital rite where proof of a bride’s virginity is presented post-consummation. While some like the scholar Marame Gueye frame the practice in sex positive terms, Nyang believes otherwise and uses her protagonist Sainabou, who questions the ceremony’s necessity, as a vehicle to remonstrate it.
Tag: Ama Ata Aidoo
The Aficionado Award, a new collaboration between Frankfurter Buchmesse and Torino’s book fair, has been…
Ghana’s Ama Ata Aidoo, one of Africa’s most-celebrated authors and playwrights has died aged 81.…