NEW NOVEL EXPOSES MISOGYNY IN PATRIARCHAL CULTURES ........
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HATFIELD, HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND - In her new book "Being a Woman in Africa" author Ruth Pink draws on her childhood experiences to craft a novel that exposes the horrible treatment of women in some African cultures.
Here are extracts:
Hannah was the envy of everyone at school. Mr Chokunyanya was her class teacher and he was among the twenty-one strong staff at St Faith’s Mission. The rumours were that Mr Chokunyanya loved the women, and had tried it on with every single lady teacher at the school. He grinned every time a woman passed him. Mr Chokunyanya’s wife was also a primary school teacher who worked at a rural school, a hundred kilometres away from St Faith’s Mission. Mai Chokunyanya was a large, curvy, likeable woman, and schoolchildren used to gather around her like she was a spectacle. She probably weighed around 140 kilos, and was so curvy that the children used to mock her and say that a mug of tea would rest comfortably on her behind. Mr Chokunyanya seemed somewhat embarrassed to be seen in the company of his wife, as he was half her size and much shorter. Whenever they were in each other’s company, he would lead the way and move a few metres ahead of her, as if they were not together, and they rarely spoke to each other in public. The children whispered about this behind their backs. It looked like Chokunyanya was happier in Mai (Mrs) Chokunyanya’s absence, and this gave him the chance to see other women, or so the rumours went.
*
Later on in the book:
One cold morning,
the phone rang and at the end of the line was a male voice. Rosewitta
quickly recognised that it was her head of department.
“Come
to my office immediately,” he said with a sense of authority and
urgency.
Rosewitta panicked,
but abandoned everything that she was doing and rushed out.
“Office
protocol,” she reminded herself.
She went past the
boss’s secretary and went into the office, which had self-locking
doors.
“Sit
down, sit down,” Mr Jona said in a calm, smooth and seductive
voice. “Sit on the sofa, Rosewitta, and relax.” He motioned to
the sofa. “I know these sofas are more comfortable than those you
have at home.”
She sat down
uneasily on the edge of the sofa, not sure what was going on.
“Rosewitta,
you know you are a beautiful young woman. How about you and I go out
together for a candlelit dinner and later satisfy our needs? I know a
beautiful girl like you has needs,” Mr Jona said, lifting his
eyebrows and drawing himself close to Rosewitta, playfully stroking
her shoulder.
Rosewitta looked
confused.
Mr Jona chuckled and
continued. “I will give you all you need. I’ve got lots of money
to spare, Rosewitta, and all I need is you to be by my side. I will
give you money and a quick promotion. What do you say, sweet, sweet,
Rosewitta?” he continued in a seductive manner, and proceeded to
explore and undress her body with his eyes, not giving her chance to
respond.
Just as she turned
her head, Rosewitta saw a bank statement in Mr Jona’s name on the
sofa where she was sitting. She was not sure what she had seen, so
she stole another look to confirm her suspicions. The statement
showed a lot of money in the account.
“You
won’t have to work hard ever again in this department if you say
yes. Look at the famous couple in this department, the Ibwes; they’ve
been married for a couple of years now, but the wife used to be a
junior officer.” Mr Jona paused. “How about booking a posh hotel
tonight, so that we can have a night of passion? I need you tonight,”
he said, licking his lips with burning desire.
Rosewitta
looked at Mr Jona and could not see anything likeable or attractive
about him. If
he was the last man on earth I would not fall for him; he is ugly,
and has the features of a hippo. How on earth can he even suggest
this?
Rosewitta looked lost in thought for a moment, but realised that she
had to think of something quickly.
Rosewitta
could see that Mr Jona was now uncomfortable in his trousers and that
made her uneasy. An incident about her rape ordeal years ago flashed
back into her memory. She remembered how Goliath had raped her in
front of her sister Melissa, how he had pushed her to the ground with
so much strength. Such an incident would not easily be forgotten. Are
all men like this?
she wondered, painfully reflecting on what had happened years ago
with tears in her eyes. She also recalled what her childhood friend
Hannah had gone through with Mr Chokunyanya, and felt a lump in her
throat.
"BEING A WOMAN IN AFRICA"
By Ruth Pink is available as
Softcover [6 x 9] 124 pages ] ISBN 978-1-4918-7957-3
E-book [124 pages] ISBN 978-1-4918-7958-0
The book launch is on the 30th of November 2013 at Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City, England AL7 3XD
You can also buy the book from Charityhopetrust and support their cause to educate African children. Their website is http://www.charityhope.org.uk/
Please follow the e-bay link below to purchase this book and support African children. 100% of the proceeds will go towards helping the above charity.
".....Absolutely amazing book. An engaging narrative that will leave your heart aching for the African woman's plight. I highly recommend it." Dr Mercy
".....Absolutely brilliant..." Pauline, Hatfield, Herts
".....it makes beautiful reading." Delia, Stevenage, Herts
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/
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