Ethics and Human Rights in Anglophone African Women’s Literature

Abstract

This book proposes feminist empathy as a model of interpretation in the works of contemporaryAnglophone African women writers. The African woman's body is often portrayed as havingbeen disabled by the patriarchal and sexist structures of society. Returning to their bodiesas a point of reference, rather than the postcolonial ideology of empire, contemporary African women writers demand fairness and equality. By showing how this literature deploysimaginative shifts in perspective with women experiencing unfairness, injustice, or oppressionbecause of their gender, Chielozona Eze argues that by considering feminist empathy, discussions open up about how this literature directly addresses the systems that put themin disadvantaged positions. This book, therefore, engages a new ethical and human rightsawareness in African literary and cultural discourses, highlighting the openness to reality that iscompatible with African multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and increasingly cosmopolitan communities.