MIGRATION, IDENTITY AND RECONSTRUCTION OF FEMALE MIGRANTS’ EXPERIENCES IN CHIKA UNIGWE’S BETTER NEVER THAN LATE

Kufre A. Akpan, Monica Udoette

Abstract


This paper interrogates migration, identity and the nuances of female migrants’ experiences in Chika Unigwe’s Better Never than Late. The paper notes that, although women seem to have dominated the global migration flow, migration has mostly been considered from an overwhelmingly male perspective, perhaps, due to the male predominance in the process. This development, most often, creates complexes that diminish the identity and self-worth of women in their destination countries. It also leads to some misrepresentations and erroneous portrayal of migrant women in some literary and critical discourses on migration. Against this backdrop, this paper attempts a deconstruction and reconstruction of this perception and establishes that women, like men, are also active participants in the migration process and not merely appendages of male migrants. The paper adopts Post-colonial Feminist theory as its theoretical position and, through analysis of some extrapolations in some selected stories in Unigwe’s text mentioned above, the paper reveals that, given their multifaceted roles, women contribute immensely to the economic development of their countries of destination, through their competencies and skills. The paper concludes on an appeal note, that countries should evolve legal instruments that promote the rights of migrant women.

 

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migration, identity, women, experiences, reconstruction

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v4i2.453

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