EMANCIPATION THROUGH VERSE: EXPLORING THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN IN SELECTED SOMALIAN POEMS FROM THREE ANTHOLOGIES
Abstract
Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to explore how women in Somalian society are emancipating themselves in the selected poems in the three anthologies.
Problem Statement: Women in Somali artistic works until now have continued to be treated as the inferior gender through ways such as being allocated inferior roles. Hence, there is need for an authoritative voice on the place of women characters in Somali poetry. Hence, there is a concern on the position that the Somali women have been placed in literary works. The research applied post feminism theory and stylistics theory.
Methodology: A qualitative research design was applied. Textual analysis was used as the method of analyzing the selected texts. The poems that were analyzed were from three selected diaspora Somali female anthologies; The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth and An Anthology of Grief. The study employed purposive sampling to select the texts that constitute the target population. Data collection was conducted through the use of notes and checklists.
Result: Emancipation of women in Somali poetry hence society shows that that religion plays a substantial role in women’s lives. Shire’s poems revealed that religion provides comfort in times of difficulty as reflected in the poem “What Your Mother Told You After Your Father Left”. The poets revealed that women go through healing from absent fathers, motherlands left behind, being in unwanted spaces, sexual lingering by unwanted men or family members in order to create an identity for themselves.
Recommendation: There is a pressing need for educational outreach. Somali women should be made aware of the potential roles they can play in the socio-economic and political spheres of their communities. Educational institutions, in particular, play a pivotal role in this respect.
Keywords: Emancipation, Women's Empowerment, Somalian Poetry, Anthologies, Literary Analysis
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