admin @ Mon, 2006-03-06 09:00
For granting a harmless interview to a popular national newspaper (not this medium, of course), Razinat Mohammed, PhD, teacher of African Literature at the University of Maiduguri, and award-winning author whose first book has got several eager publishers jostling among themselves to strike a deal with her, may have unwittingly burnt her fingers.
At present, Razinat Mohammed finds herself making a difficult choice between the proverbial devil and the deep blue sea. Either way, the prospect of coming out of her dilemma unscathed seems quite bleak, just because the interview, published only two Sundays ago, carried a sensational headline.
The allegedly ‘offensive' headline was captioned: “Sharia Can't Stop Me From Writing Love Stories”, a clear indication that it was immediately intended to ignite the reader's curiosity at initial visual contact. But subsequent reactions within the last few days have further revealed that most Nigerian readers' interest in a newspaper story does not really go beyond the superficial.
Ever since the publication hit the news-stands, an otherwise calm and collected Mohammed has been rattled by several phone calls from friends, relatives, colleagues, and strangers advising her to go into hiding to avoid the wrath of the forces behind last month's bloody mayhem in Maiduguri.
It is assumed that these religious fanatics might be incensed enough by the deceptive tone of the headline to want to cast the first self-righteous stones before even caring to read the text of the interview.
As an alternative, the author faces the choice of going on air to either apologise for the harm presumably caused the sensibilities of her immediate audience by the publication, or dissociate herself from the interview. Either way, whatever decision she takes, it may have far-reaching consequences for her career as a writer. At least, sources within the literary community think so. But some of them do not see any point in apologising for an error she didn't commit, adding that any attempt to do so might put her reputation as a conscientious writer in jeopardy. “This is hardly the best way to encourage a writer of Razinat's promise,” one writer says. And for the rest, the situation might present an opportunity to ultra-conservative elements within the Muslim community up north to hit out at the author for what she is – an emerging literary female voice.
Considering her pedigree, intimidating as it seems to such elements, as a jet-set intellectual, with a doctorate degree to boot, flourishing in a conservative society, Razinat Mohammed may come across to most observers as endangered specie. Already, she is being touted as the most likely female writer from the North to succeed the likes of Zaynab Alkali and Maria Ajima. Last year, as if to confirm her arrival on the literary firmament, her first book, a collection of 11 short stories entitled A Love Like A Woman's and Other Stories won the maiden ANA/Lantern Books Prize as a manuscript.
Still single, Mohammed seems to be totally absorbed in her writing and her work at the university. In a recent chat with Daily Independent, she confesses to seeing herself as solely interested in highlighting the social condition of the Nigerian woman. Her decision to speak out for the womenfolk stems from a personal conviction that women are largely oppressed by their men folk. According to her, marginalisation of the weaker sex occurs in many dimensions, with the most distressing being political marginalisation.
What actually influences her writing? “My immediate environment. An environment that is in dire need of expression,” she says, admitting that the Northern Nigerian society actually fits the description best and she is, at the same time, committed to mirroring this society positively and negatively, as well as highlighting its good points and decrying its weaknesses. And that, perhaps, explains why she has made the theme of love central to most of her stories. As a matter of fact, most of the stories in A Love Like A Woman's tingles with her perception of her society as one that is almost bereft of love, which largely sees the woman as a mere appendage to be discarded at will and not a major player in the upkeep of that society. The title story of the book itself is a moving testimony to the real position of the woman in such society.
Razinat names Zaynab Alkali, Buchi Emecheta, and the Egyptian writer, Nawal El Saadawi, as her role models and says their works have greatly influenced her views on the female condition. She respects El Saadawi for her extraordinary courage and her role as a frontline woman activist from an Arab society. At the same time, she thinks both Alkali and Emecheta are excellent writers in their own rights committed to expressing this same condition eloquently. Although, she shies away from being identified as a feminist, she does not hesitate to denounce women who still hang on to the belief that men should be held responsible for their problems. “Women should stop blaming the men for their woes, but look inwards for explanations and solutions because they are their own enemies,” she says.
This is cache, read story here