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Igbo Women In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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According to the United States Census Bureau, one in five people suffer from some type of disability. This alarming statistic is just considering the people who live in the United States with Social Security disability insurance. One may think that as a younger person, disability cannot and will not affect any aspect of one 's life. However, the Social Security Administration states that one in four people above the age of twenty is struck with a disability before reaching the ripe age of retirement. Despite the startling data, there still seems to be a barrier between the disabled and so-called “normal” people. Humankind does not stop to think that a large part of the population struggles daily to catch up to everyone else. The newest statistics released by the FBI confirm that with the rise of division and hatred among the American society during the last couple of years, hate crimes against the disabled have risen about 40 …show more content…

In addition to being translated into about forty-five languages and winning the Margaret Wong Memorial Prize, China Achebe’s Things Fall Apart has been one of the few books in African fiction to truly portray the injustices that Igbo women experienced. Achebe discusses other groups of people in his book, but the women are the group of people whose discrimination can be clearly seen. Towards the beginning of the book, the reader can easily depict the role that women play in the Igbo society. Women are expected to clean, cook, care for children, and tell stories. This is clearly seen in page 27 of Things Fall Apart when Okonkwo, the main character, is filled with rage when he finds out one of his wives has left his children unattended but and left him without a meal. After the wife returned, “he beat her very heavily,” proving that men had absolutely no respect for women (Achebe 29). Just like the Igbo women were treated poorly because of the lack of human decency that men had towards them, disabled people also face injustices because of

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Timothy Odusote Ms.Calo English 12 , Period 8 January, 29 2016 Annotated Bibliography: Things Fall Apart "Albert Chinualumogu Achebe; 16 November 1930. " Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web.

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