The Condition of the African Woman in “C’est le Soleil Qui M’a Brûlée” by Calixthe Beyala

Abstract

This article talks about Calixthe Beyala who is a popular Cameroonian writer and author of many books. It focuses on the condition of the African woman. In one of her books “ C’est le soleil qui m’a brulée “ which is our texte for this article. She exposes the inhuman and very disturbing condition of the African woman. She presents the African woman as victim of rape and violence of all sort, husband battering, exploitation, divorce, genital mutilation in the name of cultural preservation and protection of virginity, incest and the practice of abandoning both wife and children by men. In her works, she presents the man as the problem of the woman. She strongly believes that with the man out of the way the woman’s world will be peaceful. The work also suggests the urgent need for traditional institutions to take urgent steps to stop these evils like rape, incest, husband batter ing , genital mutilation, sexual molestations of female children, divorce, and all forms of child abuse by men. It also calls on government to enact harsh laws that will protect women and children and offenders should be made to suffer the heavy weight of the law.