A Gender-Based Assessment of Socio-cultural Violence in Buchi Emecheta's Novel — La Dot

Abstract

Drawing on cultural violence theory rather than the more common feminist readings, this close-reading study interrogates widowhood, bride price, forced marriage, the oshu caste and sexist traditions in Buchi Emecheta's La Dot (the French translation of The Bride Price). The paper foregrounds education as a pathway to autonomy for African women and girls seeking to overcome oppressive cultural structures.