Author(s): Nfon Rita Gola

Abstract: This paper articulates masculinity’s diminishing strength in Africa and highlights new women imaging within the interaction of time, cultural analysis and feminist discourse. It limits its search to the 1960s and 1970s socio/economic and political landscapes. Principally, it underlines the timid beginnings of misogyny and stresses on its gradual but steady growth. Guided by a study of Margaret Afuh's Born Before Time (2003) Flowers in the Desert (2009) and Julie Enjema Tala's Daughters of Ekema,(2012) the paper uncovers the female African’s pain under the intersection of patriarchy, culture and gender, and challenges the drawbacks by establishing alternative ways to the traditional orchestrated demeaning behaviours. In theoretical assessment, it uses womanism; an African feminist theory positioned by its theorists as a significant tool for Africa’s positive transformation. The essay premises that the mindset of the empowered African woman is geared towards developing the entire human society.

Keywords: manhood, empowerment, gender, patriarchy, violence.

Article Info: Received:12 Mar 2025; Received in revised form: 08 Apr 2025; Accepted: 13 Apr 2025; Available online: 20 Apr 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.102.39