Women and Biafra: a comparative, literary study of women's roles during the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970)

Abstract

The Nigerian civil war (1967-1970) represents a tragic chapter of African history. This brutal conflict was predominantly studied by male historians and novelists, offering a limited perspective of events. Though women and children comprised the majority of war casualties, very rarely were their experiences discussed in male-authored texts, and women's own war writings were largely dismissed or heavily criticized by male critics. The aim of this thesis is thus to examine the war literature written by three Igbo women writers belonging to different generations of Nigerian authors namely Flora Nwapa's Never Again (1975) and Wives at War and other Stories (1980), Buchi Emecheta's Destination Biafra (1982) and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun (2006). The purpose is to show how each novelist decides to tackle this sensitive subject and, ultimately, to foster a comparative analysis of their writings. Overall, through my thesis, I aim to shed light onto the female experience during the Nigerian civil war in order to underscore the strength and resourcefulness of Nigerian women who remain the unsung heroines of this conflict.