Exploring Women’s Identity in Selected Charles Dickens’s Works: A re-visitation from a Contemporary African Perspective International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) Page | 93 well designed and planned. It should cater for the real needs expressed by the beneficiaries. It shall no
longer be education for the sake of education; just theoretical education. Mathematics or geometry
should not be taught where the real needs of the population are more about capacities building in
agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and aquaculture. Economics should not be taught where the
tangible needs existing on ground is about addressing plants protection and post-harvest losses.
Education will not induce the expected social changes unless it tallies the beneficiary population‟s
needs. Contemporary African women must adapt their formal education to the needs expressed by
their fellow compatriots in order not to end up irrelevant and useless. For contemporary African
women to be useful for their society, they must be open-minded and prepared to help not only their
peers, but also their husbands at home following the example of Dickens‟ father who has been
significantly assisted and supported by his wife when he was in detention. In recognition to women
for this legacy of his mother Dickens has assisted many female writers to publish their novel. But
nowadays, many women both in African and non-African contexts have been asserting their self-
defence and autonomy to the extent of determining their own careers without men‟s support at all. As
such Association and interests groups through Non-governmental and governmental organizations are
established here and there to champion women‟s causes and defend children, girls and women‟s
rights. Some are specialized in women‟s educational rights defence while others rather cater for girls‟
sexual health reproduction„s rights by fighting against any kind of gender-based violence against
women including sex mutilation which sill is affecting thousands of girls in some regions of this 21
st
Century world. Many African intellectual women are supportive of feminist theories while others
express their preference for womanist move, in support of a balanced development. But obviously,
contemporary African women are so empowered and capacitated that they are no longer relegated to
the secondary roles of minor importance in the society as it used to be in the past. Both in fictional
and real-life situations, contemporary African women‟s mind-set have significantly changed. Their
portrayal, depiction and characterization by female and male fiction writers have positively evolved to
come to the stage of redefinition and re-presentation of their identity and personality. From the bottom
and poor characters, they are gradually coming to the forefront of actions performance. Many African
female writers are gradually deconstructing patriarchy which has served as the backbone of the social
schisms that have strengthened African women‟s plights and predicaments. This 21
st
Century in the
era of self-fulfilment, self-assertion, empowerment and capacitation for African women who are
henceforth psychologically and morally prepared to face any situation affecting their identity as a
whole. . In spite of all that progress achieved so far, Africa women still come across some hindrances
which prevent them from delivering more results. Among those obstacles range the sociocultural
constraints and stereotypes which definitely call for concrete and vigorous actions for the
Africanisation of women‟s awareness creation and education, as a whole. As Conrad Phillip Kottak
claims:
Studying people directly at the local level, ethnogrophers have a unique view of how national and international planning and aid affect the intended beneficiaries 27 . Conrad directly or indirectly
advocates for an adaptation of the education to African context and realities. Authorities in charge of
International Organizations recognize that many things have been done for women social
development as the Chair of the UN Economic Commission for Africa‟s Committee on Women and
Development claims:
We are all aware that despite achievements and progress made, African women face major challenges and obstacles 28
.
On July 11 2003, the African Union adopted the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, a
supplementary protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Rights, which was adopted
in 1981. The Protocol, which fills a major gap in the regional human rights system (Amnesty
International, 2005), calls for the protection of the rights of women in reproductive health,
violence against women, elimination of all forms of harmful traditional practices (including early
marriage and female genital mutilation, equal right to education and training).
29
Of course, it is a matter of common knowledge that African policy-makers currently fight for passing
laws and bylaws on women‟s main concerns for their social welfare. But most of the time it is to
27
Conrad Philip Kottak ,
Anthropology The Exploration of Human Diversity , p 413.
28
http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/july-2005/african-women-battle-equality
29
http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Knowledge/25040341-FR-DRAFT-DEJENE.9-15-
07DOC.PDF
