DISPLACEMENT AND EMBODIMENT OF FEAR FOR SURVIVAL OF THE AFRICAN WOMAN IN THE 21ST CENTURY IN CHIKA UNIGWE’S ON BLACK SISTERS’ STREET

Abstract

On Black Sisters’ Street portrays the decision to go into sex work as stemming from more than naiveté and trickery. Nigeria as an economy failing its graduates, women and families creates conditions that allow for a man like Dele to flourish selling the bodies of women not protected by a wealthy home or progressive career prospects. The aim of this study is to show the various constraints the African governments and society impose on women even in the 21st century pushing them to get away from tyranny and subjugation only to find themselves ensnared in exploitation through traffic networks. I use a predominantly black feminist epistemology to consider the intersections of poverty, gender, and sexuality and how these inform an under­standing of women’s pain. The article argues that while the female characters are defenceless, they retain a dreamy attitude contained within their ability to survive and remain resilient in the face of atrocities for migrants. Chika Unigwe uses narrative to provoke moral and political action and asks for a more nuanced understanding of the conditions in which her protagonists ex­ist. Such a nuanced reading, offers an opportunity for deep reflection on the complexity of human lives in conditions of precarious existence.