Education as a Tool for Women Empowerment in Zaynab Alkali and Abubakar Gimba’s Selected Novels

Abstract

The dominance of patriarchy as a cultural mainstay of the people and Islam as a religious philosophy and practice in northern Nigeria did not prioritise the education of the girl child until recently. The result of these is the diminished contribution of the woman to the welfare of northern Nigerian. This paper examines the plight of northern Nigerian woman and how education as a tool brings social development, empowers the woman to be an agent of change. The feminist critical approach to literature and Marxist literary theory are used as a tool for the textual assessment of Zaynab Alkali’s The Descendants and Abubakar Gimba’s Sacred Apples in this paper. Besides, many females do not have access to education in their community; this lack of access to educate the woman is the result of cultural, religious and economic factors. Furthermore, the paper reveals the importance of education to the woman, since no society progresses by the efforts of a segment of its population. The paper concludes that the emancipator power of education is a tool for social liberation, self-actualisation and development for the individual in particular and the society in general. It is the most important tool in addressing women problem in Nigeria, especially in the northern part.