Poetry as an inquiry into the status of women

Abstract

The study comprises a critique of women poets selected from different parts of Africa. The poets are as follows: Gwendoline Konie, Shakuntala Hawoldar, Leila Djabali, Kristina Rungana and Ifi Amadiume. This study shows that if there is one characteristic that these poets share in common, it is their inquiry into the issue of men's superiority. In this sense, all the poems have broadly similar assumptions. But there are significant differences in the ways these poets react to patriarchy. On her own part, Konie focuses on the equality of sexes. The most remarkable feature uniting the poems of Hawoldar, Djabali, and Rungano is their conservative attitude while Amadiume adopts a radical approach to patriarchy.