International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

ISSN 2220-8488 (Print), 2221-0989 (Online) 10.30845/ijhss

The Ensnaring Oil: an Ecofeminist Critique of Kaine Agary’s Yellow Yellow
Olubunmi O. Ashaolu

Abstract
The natural environment has been speculated as feminine, likewise, it occupies a significant position in the daily activities of a woman. In essence, her roles in protecting nature in Africa cannot be underestimated. The bond between woman and nature also reveals the extreme connection that links female oppression to the abuse of nature. Hence, their joint interdependence and subjugation call for an ecofeminist inquiry. From the theoretical standpoint of ecofeminism, this paper evaluates Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow to advance a critical discourse on the variables of the closeness between the joint exploitation / degradation of African woman and her environment. First, it interrogates how male-biased “power over” and the logic of domination is characterized by environmental degradation. Second, it parodies the persistent oppression of African land, seen in her woman and Mother Earth, to the advantage of the West and African patriarchal capitalists – traitors of African progress. The paper concludes by not only highlighting the complementarity of African woman and nature (Mother – Earth), but also it underpins a symbiotic relationship between woman and the non-human Other.

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