African feminism

This study explores the complex dynamics of polygyny by examining the attitudes, agency, and behavioral patterns of the co-wives in Lola Shonayin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives. Set against the backdrop of a contemporary yet deeply patriarchal Nigerian society, the novel provides a nuanced lens into the domestic warfare, strategic alliances, and individual survival mechanisms deployed within a polygynous household. Utilizing a African feminist theoretical framework, this paper analyzes how the four wives—Iya Segi, Iya Tope, Iya Femi, and Bolanle—navigate their socio-cultural limitations. The textual analysis reveals that rather than remaining passive victims of patriarchal containment, the wives exhibit diverse attitudes ranging from fierce rivalry and manipulation to subtle subversion and solidarity. While the older wives manipulate traditional structures and leverage secrets to maintain security and power, the entry of the educated, monogamously-raised fourth wife, Bolanle, disrupts the established hierarchy and inadvertently exposes the foundational deception keeping the household intact. Ultimately, the study argues that Shoneyin uses the wives' conflicting attitudes to critique institutionalized polygyny, exposing it not as a harmonious traditional ideal, but as a site of intense emotional labor, psychological maneuvering, and hidden female autonomy.

This study examined the challenges of women’s oppression in African societies, especially Nigeria. Through the use of Flora Nwapa's Efuru and Lola Shoneyin's The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, the study explored how women struggle within patriarchal societies and how cultural beliefs, gender roles, and traditional expectations affect women’s lives and marriages in Africa. The study adopted qualitative research subjecting relevant instances of women oppression, discrimination, and resistance in both texts to textual analysis using feminist theory. The study revealed that both Nwapa and Shoneyin expose the deep-rooted patriarchal structures that silence women and normalize gender inequality through marriage, motherhood, and societal expectations.