Women empowerment in Nigerian drama: a contextual study of Irene Salami-Agunloye’s heroines

Discourse on women empowerment in Nigeria has been on-going for decades now, and it will continue to be topical as long as issues of female subjugation, subordination, marginalization and oppression in the Nigerian society persist. And as long as there are still voices speaking up for the empowerment of the female gender, as long as concerted efforts are being made towards the realization of that course, the discourse will continue to be on the front burner of gender developmental discourse. The dramatic space like other realms of the Nigerian society has invested a great deal of talent on female empowerment and positive female character portraiture in dramatic works. One such dramatist who is contributing immensely to the advocacy of women empowerment in Nigeria through her dramatic pieces and other female gender oriented works is Irene Isoken Orosanye Salami-Agunloye. This essay is aimed at situating her female characters and their individual challenges in the present day Nigerian society and it reveals how Salami-Agunloye recreates and empowers her female characters to stand up to and address issues in a closed society that is dominated by the convictions, doctrines and ideologies of the male gender.Keywords: gender, women empowerment, drama, Salami-Agunloye, African feminis

Mounting the Voice of the African Woman on the Continental Stage: Interrogating J.P. Clark’s The Wives Revolt and Ben Binebai’s Karena’s Cross

In Africa, patriarchal dominance across cultures has placed women at disadvantaged positions. Women are seen as the voiceless gender, forced to occupy the silent margins, and in most cases declared invisible by laws and traditions promoted by men. This has resulted in a quest for  recognition of the female voice. This quest for women’s voice and identity is a front burner subject in Gender Studies across generic boundaries but researchers have not focused on some of the postulations adduced in the feminist plays and theatre. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the installation of the African woman’s voice and rights on the continent through drama and theatre. Appropriating both textual and performance investigative modes, this paper x-rays J. P. Clark’s The Wives Revolt and Ben Binebai’s Mono drama, Karena’s Cross to mount the voice of the African woman on the public space. The paper concludes that for women to enshrine their voice in the public space and have their humanity recognized and respected, more effort should be put in the quest to break away from their disadvantaged conditions.Key Words: mounting, voice, African woman, gender, identit

Concept of Witchcraft in African Drama and Negative Female Stereotyping in Select Nigerian Plays

Drama as the saying goes is as old as man. It is an integral part of every human society. The mimetic bodily gestures of primitive man necessitated by the in-adequacies of spoken language gave birth to drama. Drama and theatre have over the ages been appropriated for diverse human purposes. It has at one point or the other of human development or civilisation been a tool for education, entertainment, propaganda, confrontation, opposition, socialisation, mobilisation and therapy amongst other purposes in society. This essay is an exploration of the concept of witchcraft as it is appropriated by playwrights in their dramatic creations. The thrust of the essay is the portrayal of female characters as witches in African drama. The essay is limited to the Nigerian dramatic tradition; it examines three selected dramatic texts: J.P. Clark’s The Wives Revolt, Irene Isoken Salami’ Emotan and Zulu Sofola’s Wedlock of the Gods. All three dramatic texts explore the subject of witchcraft in female characters from three different trado-cultural perspectives

Theatre and economic empowerment of rural women in Bayelsa state: The adagbabiri experiment

Before October 1 1996, the geographic location presently known as Bayelsa state was part of the old Rivers state. When in 1996 it became one of the five states to be created in Nigeria, the gross underdevelopment that had been concealed by her being partof a larger entity was brought to the fore. It dawned on allstakeholders that there was urgent need to address the underdevelopment in the state.Various development mechanisms have been adopted to ensure growth in the state. Some succeeded while some failed. Today signs of development are evident in parts of the state. While the state still has a long way to go in achieving tangible sustainable development, efforts are being made to get there. But in the midst of the seeming development, the majority of the women folk especially those in rural Bayelsa are not reaping the dividends of development transforming their state. This paper highlights the predicament of the rural Bayelsa woman and some of the challenges and factors militating against her development. The instrument of theatre is here presented as a tool to awaken and empower her to take charge of her life in the face of apparent neglect. The paper presents a Theatre-for-Development workshop that took place in Adagbabiri a community in Bayelsa state. The impact of that workshop on the target group will be used to ascertain the efficacy of theatre as an effective tool in the empowerment of rural women

PERENCANAAN PASAR IKAN HIGIENIS PANTAI NELAYAN DI GUNUNGKIDUL

Menurut PP Nomor. 50 Tahun 2011 tentang Rencana Induk Pembangunan Kepariwisataan Nasional Tahun 2010-2025, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta masuk dalam daftar 88 Kawasan Strategis Pariwsata Nasional. Tepatnya pada kawasan karst Gunungkidul dan sekitarnya. Gunungkidul adalah salah satu kabupaten di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta dan telah menjadi primadona baru wisata alam di DIY. Kabupaten Gunungkidul mempunyai beragam potensi perekonomian mulai dari pertanian, perikanan dan peternakan, hutan, flora dan fauna, industri, tambang serta potensi pariwisata. Salah satu pantai yang masih perlu dikembangkan untuk menaikkan tingkat  wisatawan yang berkunjung adalah Pantai Ngrenehan. Karakter dari pantai ini adalah pasir pantainya yang putih dengan dikelilingi perbukitan karst. Potensi yang dimiliki menjadi pendukung untuk mengembangkan daerah ini  dengan meningkatkan potensi sebagai kawasan wisata

PERANAN KEPALA SUKU DALAM PENYELESAIAN PERANG ANTARSUKU DI KABUPATEN TIMIKA KAJIAN DARI SEGI HUKUM ADAT

Tujuan dilakukannya penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui faktor-faktor apa yang menjadi penyebab terjadinya Perang suku antarsuku di Kabupaten Timika dan bagaimana peran Kepala Suku dalam penyelesaian Perang Suku antarsuku dalam Kajian hukum adatmelalui ruang dialog cultural. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian yuridis normatif dan dapat disimpulkan: 1. Perang antar suku bukanlah suatu peristiwa baru dalam perjalanan sejarah masyarakat Kabupaten Timika karena sebelum masuknya pengaruh asing di Tanah Amungsa, perang antar suku sudah ada dan sering berlangsung antar suku maupun dalam tingkat konfederasi (sesama suku) atau lebih dikenal dengan Perang saudara. Perang suku sudah berlangsung lama, sehingga menjadi satu bagian yang tak terpisahkan dari generasi berikut, terlihat dari tindakan mereka untuk berperang walaupun sudah menerima norma-norma dan nilai-nilai,ajaran agama dan perkembangan luar. 2. Perang suku antar suku bagi masyarakat setempat bisa dikatakan beban warisan budaya yang telah diwariskan oleh nenek moyang mereka, hal ini dapat dilihat dari tingkahlaku masyarakat Kabupaten Timika sendiri, mereka merasa memiliki beban dan rasa tanggungjawab yang telah diwariskan oleh nenek moyang mereka dan beban tersebut dipertanggungjawabkan harus melalui perang suku.  Perang suku menyebabkan terjadi banyak kematian generasi muda Kabupaten Timika, jumlah korban perang suku telah mencapai ratusan bahkan ribuan tidak hanya mati dibunuh di medan perang, tetapi lebih berbahaya lagi adalah ketika terjadi kesalahan adat selama perang, maka akan terjadi kematian yang berkelanjutan hingga beribu-ribu keturunan atau menjadi kutukan keturunan. Kata kunci:  Kepala suku, perang, penyelesaian, antar suk

Nollywood Mothering: A Socio-Cultural Analysis of the Concept of Motherhood in Select Nigerian Films

In the two decades of Nollywood’s existence, the industry has x-rayed the gamut of human happenings in Nigeria and non-Nigerian societies and films based on themes within the realms of the emotional, psychological, political, social, religious, ritual, cultural, economic and more have been produced. The various genres of filmic arts have been employed and the products of this filmic media have been produced for local and international circulation. No sphere of the Nigerian society has remained sacrosanct from Nigerian Movie Makers. The theme of Motherhood has, like other themes, been variously explored severally in Nollywood films. Motherhood in the Nigerian society is greatly esteemed and held sacred. It is at the same time an institution in which the mothers most times are treated with less than the dignity, respect and humanity they deserve from the society. The portrayal of Motherhood in Nollywood movies, have also spanned the spectrum of conceivable and inconceivable mothering abilities in the Nigerian society. This essay intends to critically analyse the concept of motherhood as portrayed by the Nollywood Movie industry, using select relevant films to advance our purpose. Findings are expected to determine the level of accuracy in the portrayals vis-a-vis the levels of poetic liberty appropriated in the presentations of motherhood and its impact on the society in the contemporary Nigerian reality

Humanism of the Nigerian womanist: a cultural appraisal of Femi Osofisan’s Tegonni: an African Antigone

The evolution of global societies in this age is taking alarmingly negative turns that seem to be catapulting the world into inevitable self-destruction. The incessant violence, terror, horror, disease and deprivation that have enveloped most societies in the world bear testimony to that. Within the Cultural context of the Nigerian worldview human life used to be greatly valued above all else. In contemporary times, human life is fast becoming worthless and cultural values meaningless. Against this bleak global reality, this essay attempts to examine Femi Osofisan’s portraiture of Tegoni and the humanist ideals that he endows her with. The essay investigated the motivational force behind the actions she takes, the consequences of her actions in the throes of the cultural clash prevalent in her society at the time, and her inordinately firm resolve to take full responsibility for her decisions and actions in the face of certain death. The essay’s conclusions revealed that the true Nigerian Womanist as exemplified by Tegoni and a host of other Womanist heroines, will against all odds, strive to nurture and preserve human life and accord it, at all times, the respect, esteem and dignity it deserves in a world where the worth of the human life has become inconsequential

PERANCANGAN KOMIK SEKUEN TIMUN MAS FANTASIA JAWA TENGAH

Timun Mas is one of Indonesian’s folklore originating from Central Java and Until now the preservation of folktale just stopped at phase children. To keep existence folktale this to not just stop, then needs to be done innovation and refreshment. One of them is comic that carries the “Fantasia Jawa Tengah” concept. This concept not only tells the story of Cucumber Mas sequence but also brings the elements or symbols related from Central Java as once traditional culture, setting of the place and eviromental to creating imagination of fantasy world. Concept in this comics were aimed at keeping the existence and popularity of the Timun Mas among Indonesians in particular