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Summary
Aiwanose's We Were Girls Once, tells the story of three women – Eriife, Zina, and Ego. It's a story that goes beyond female friendship and sisterhood; it is an investigation of what it means to be a woman in a world that consistently demands them to string themselves together.
Aiwanose’s debut novel, Tomorrow I Become A Woman, explores Uju’s abusive marriage and systematic injustice toward women. Its sequel, We Were Girls Once, paints a picture of female friendship, sisterhood, and the transition from girlhood to womanhood.
The novel tells the story of three women — Ego, Zina, and Eriife. Their friendship is built on the connection link built by their mothers. From Zina’s identity as an actress to Eriife’s navigation of Nigerian politics to Ego’s survival of domestic abuse and trauma, Aiwanose highlighted how women’s lives become battlegrounds for cultural, familial, and national expectations.
In a society where women are put against each other by patriarchy and men, Aiwanose portrays a perfect friendship and sisterhood, championing the feminist belief that solidarity among women is a tool of survival in a patriarchal system.
Aiwanose reveals how gendered silence is forced on women. In the political sphere, they are expected to serve as a soothing voice to powerful men. Yet, they strive to reclaim their lives and voices.
The novel critiques how patriarchal society demands sacrifice, silence, or complicity from women. It highlights how women endure unjust systems that seek to silence them and the fragile bond of sisterhood that helps them endure it. Aiwanose reminds readers that women are not just passive observers of Nigeria’s story; they are central to it.
