|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Summary
And So I Roar by Abi Darè tells the transformative story of Adunni from a muted semi-educated girl to the resounding roar of a young woman who challenged patriarchal oppression and demanded justice. The novel reveals the many harsh realities faced by Nigerian young girls living in rural communities.
In her debut novel, “The Girl With The Louding Voice”, Abi Darè tells the coming-of-age story of semi-educated Adunni, who desires to be educated. In the sequel novel, readers witnessed the transformation of Adunni from a weak, vulnerable girl to a young determined, confident woman who refused to be silenced.
The novel opens with the menacing knock at Ms. Tia’s gate on the evening before Adunni’s resumption at Ocean Academy, where she has secured a scholarship. This prompts Adunni’s return to her village, Ikate. The people of Ikate had accused her of wrongdoing; the killing of her co-wife, Khadija. To clear her name, Adunni together with Ms. Tia went to Ikate and discovered more harmful practices of the patriarchal Ikate society. Through Adunni’s return to Ikate, Abi takes readers back into the heart of systematic oppression.
Through the introduction of new characters like Zenab, Abi showcases that Adunni’s struggles is not the story of one girl, but the collective stories of many girls who are oppressed in a patriarchal society, especially in the rural communities. The misogyny practices of the people’s of Ikate spotlights the harsh realities of the abuse of women’s rights, including false accusations, FGM, traditional judgements, and how women are blamed for forces beyond their control. The village of Ikate is the reflection of the broader patriarchal Nigeria – a society that policed women’s bodies, silenced their voices, and dictated their worth through control and fear.
Although, Ms. Tia represents a modern, sophisticated, educated and articulate woman, while Adunni symbolises the raw, unpolished young woman who challenged the patriarchal society. Their relationship is highly symbolic to feminist the belief that female liberation strives more when women support each other. Together, they embody two types of female empowerment: intellectual and sisterhood.
Adunni’s defiance to challenge the patriarchal structure of Ikate village to assert her rights and agency revealed how the education of girl-children is a significant weapon to truly challenge the misogyny acts against women. Through her, Abi insisted that women’s liberation begins when women speak even when they are afraid or their voices tremble.
The title of the book, “And So I Roar” signifies the cry of a muted semi-educated village girl transformed into the resounding Roar of a woman who dares to resist oppression and demand justice.
