Power Game: Gender Inequality in Buchi Emecheta’s Second-Class Citizen and Meena Kandasamy’s When I Hit You

Abstract

This research article examines various aspects such as themes, the craftsmanship of Buchi Emecheta, and Meena Kandasamy to establish the nature of feminism in their works. This article attempts to explore certain unexplored arena of gender inequality to establish feminist credentials even more firmly. Protagonists in Emecheta’s Second-class citizen and Kandasamy’s When I Hit You are not submissive to exploitation but active to revolutionize their situations. Research article explores societal structures of African and Indian culture, investigate whether in prevailing cultures both gender are attaining equality or not and if certain gender is being oppressed what is the reason behind it. This paper identifies how domestic violence, traditions, family life and complacency as being accountable for unequal distribution of power among the genders and how it forms the basis of exploitation of women.  Both Emecheta’s and Kandasamy’s approach to destabilize male oppression with them confirms that despite the thrash about, women proclaim themselves in a realm is subjugated by men through education and female solidarity and their novel suggests a social alteration by which the different forms of exclusion, domination, mistreatment, physical and emotional abuse and their silencing that encourage gender inequality can be confronted by women itself. The article is also expected to analyse and assess the African Indian society with special reference to the condition of women therein and Gender Inequality prevailing.