The African Womanist Vision in Vera's Works

Abstract

This article analyses the brand/s of feminism depicted in Vera's selected works as articulated in Nehanda (1993), Without a Name (1994) and The Stone Virgins (2002), in an attempt to determine her feministic vision. Vera's writings foreground female discourse in that the subject of her fiction is gender specific. In Sign and Taboo (Muponde & Taruvinga 2003), the editor suggests that Vera works outside any identifiable literary tradition, and seems to challenge reading models of any attempt to classify her as a specific kind of writer. This article, however, will attempt to place Vera's selected works within the conceptual framework of African woman­ism, an Afrocentric feminist ideology within the feminist paradigm.
    Vera seems to adopt the main tenets of African womanism as her selected works show women not only as victims of the patriarchal and colonial order, but also as an essential complementary part within an African family or communal unit. Her works centre not only on gender, but also reflect on nationalism, identity and are steeped in historicity.
    Much of the criticism of Vera's works by female critics has come mainly from Western literary critics whose perspectives are somewhat different from those of an African womanist. Taking the latter stance in this paper is done with the hope that the reader, as well as the writer of this article, will have a clearer understanding and conception of African womanism as a particular brand of black feminism.

Opsomming

Hierdie artikel ontleed die tipe(s) feminisme wat in Vera se geselekteerde werke uitgebeeld word, soos verwoord in Nehanda (1993), Without a Name (1994) en The Stone Virgins (2002), in 'n poging om haar feministiese visie te bepaal. Vera se werke beklemtoon vroulike diskoers in die sin dat die onderwerp van haar fiksie genderspesifiek is. In Sign and Taboo (Muponde & Taruvinga 2003) suggereer die redakteur dat Vera buite enige identifiseerbare literere tradisie werk, oenskynlik om pogings uit te daag om haar aan die hand van leesmodelle as 'n spesifieke soort skrywer te klassifiseer. Hierdie artikel poog egter om Vera se gekose werke binne die konseptuele raamwerk van Afrika-feminisme - 'n Afrosentriese feministiese ideologie binne die feministiese paradigma - te plaas. 

    Dit blyk dat Vera die belangrikste leerstellings van Afrika-feminisme aanneem, aangesien vroue in haar gekose werke nie slegs as slagoffers van die patriargale en koloniale orde nie, maar ook as 'n noodsaaklike aanvullende deel binne 'n Afrika­gesin of gemeenskapseenheid uitgebeeld word. Haar werke sentreer nie slegs om gender nie, maar besin ook oor nasionalisme en identiteit, en is gewortel in historisiteit.
    Kritiek teen Vera se werke deur vrouekritici kom meestal uit 'n Westerse literere oord, waarvan die perspektiewe ietwat van die van 'n Afrika-feminis verskil. Voorge­noemde standpunt word in hierdie artikel ingeneem in die hoop dat die leser, asook die skrywer van hierdie gedeelte, 'n duideliker begrip van Afrika-feminisme as 'n besondere tipe swart feminisme sal bekom.