Gender Inequality in Nigeria: Looking For Transwonderland

Looking For Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria is a personal novel written by Noo Saro-Wiwa where she details her own experiences of returning to her homeland in Nigeria. It is set in an emotional and nostalgic setting that Saro-Wiwa initiates for recollecting memories in Nigeria. The main reasons for traveling back to Nigeria include the murder of her father, recollecting her hometown, and simply enjoying the country and culture of Nigeria. For these reasons, other detrimental factors are shown from the country that does not positively sit with Saro-Wiwa. The country of Nigeria resembles heavy inequality in gender, mainly the down bringing of the female population. With the tourism that Saro-Wiwa experiences, she also faces the devastating truth of gender inequality in the country and shares dialects of traveling as a woman in her hometown that connects to certain diverse perspective identities.

While visiting Nigeria, Saro-Wiwa describes moments when she felt uncomfortable traveling. She eventually visits the capital of Nigeria which is Abuja. The capital has a background of gender inequality that has been studied by BMC Health Services. Researchers studied gender norms in Abuja concerning maternity, childcare, marriage, and domestic abuse against women. The research state, “Gender norms frequently expose women to early or forced marriage, adolescent pregnancies, unintended pregnancies, and sexual or physical violence” (Adetiloye). This research study represents how women are abused by gender norms on their rights of pregnancy or marriage. It is devastating that innocent women go through this treatment in their homeland. This is connected to how Saro-Wiwa had felt while visiting the city of Abuja. While in the city, she mentions, “Abuja was the opposite of my home town of Port Harcourt. I felt [like] an outsider” (Saro-Wiwa 112). This quote from the novel depicts how she felt while being in the city of Abuja. She states it as the opposite of her hometown, with it possibly connecting to the ways women are treated differently. The figurative use of language for ‘outsider’ explains the feelings that Saro-Wiwa had while in Abuja. In connection to the research study of gender roles, Saro-Wiwa felt like an outsider could have been due to gender inequality in Abuja. The reason that she compares the city to her city already implicates the difference in visitation. 

In addition, Saro-Wiwa not only describes her feelings in the city of Kano. Out of all the cities that she visited, Kano appeared to be the most religious one. She described Kano as the oldest city, housing the Hausa people following an Islamic dress code (Saro-Wiwa 141-143). Saro-Wiwia has described herself as an Ogoni and Christian, which led to her feeling differentiated in Kano (Saro-Wiwa 143). With this, Saro-Wiwa feels apprehensive while being in this city. Saro-Wiwa says, “But Kano seemed to me to be underpinned by a tight power structure based on a male-dominated ethnic kinship far removed from my identity. I felt an uncharacteristic urge to ‘fit in” (Saro-Wiwa 143). This statement shows how Saro-Wiwa felt isolated from the religious city of Kano. The mention of a ‘male-dominated’ kinship heavily mediates that she felt uneasy due to gender roles. This ties into the possibility of the gender inequality that Saro-Wiwa is potentially facing herself. The context of religion can also be a reason as to why she feels left out, but the dominant portion of this quote is the involvement of the male kinship in which Saro-Wiwa then states her feelings. With the research studies of Abuja and the religious acts in Kano, the description of Saro-Wiwa’s text indicates clear gender inequality in her perspective. These factors surely create an uneasy feeling for Saro-Wiwa especially for visiting her homeland after so long. 

 Along with Saro-Wiwa’s feelings, the truth of gender inequality does reveal itself in Nigeria. In her travels to the different cities in Nigeria, Saro-Wiwa experiences instances of gender inequality that concern her. She experiences heavy inequality mostly in the city of Kano. While visiting Durbar in Kano, she meets a woman named Nadira. Nadira shares her feelings of being a woman in Nigeria and it does exemplify the inequality of women. Nadira said, “But women don't have freedom here. They're not allowed to do anything.” (Saro-Wiwa 158). This statement from Nadira demonstrates how the women in Nigeria are not treated equally as men are. It is a credible source for Saro-Wiwa to confide in because Nadira is a woman who has been living in Kano for thirty years. This statement from Nadira connects to Saro-Wiwa's original feelings of traveling in Nigeria as a woman herself. It correlates to the reasoning that women in the cities in Nigeria do not have the same power as men. 

Further Nadira’s response, Saro-Wiwa experiences more inequality. In the city of Maiduguri, Saro-Wiwa visits the stone mountain of Sukur and the Mini Museum. While visiting the museum, there was been physical evidence of how women have been treated unfairly was. Saro-Wiwa states, “The men’s mats were flat grass ones; the women’s were made of rounded guinea corn sticks, which resembles bamboo. They seemed designed for maximum discomfort. I'll never understand why women throughout the world are made to suffer in such petty ways” (Saro-Wiwa 202). This statement from the novel reveals how through the simple use of bamboo mats, gender inequality was obvious. The noted use of ‘maximum discomfort’ that Saro-Wiwa uses to explain the bamboo mats explains the whole relationship between women and Nigeria. Saro-Wiwa mentions that her knowledge of the unequal treatment of women will be something that is never clear to her. This statement connects to how Saro-Wiwa had felt originally as a woman uneasy and uncomfortable. This is what happened to women in the city of Maiduguri and is similar in ways of mistreatment through the use of therefore mentioned bamboo mats. Another devastating encounter that Saro-Wiwa experienced was when she traveled to the city of Nguru to visit the Chad Basin National Park. Nigerians Harry Hudson and Zanna were able to provide her with a tour of the park in which she experiences an unusual encounter. The park housed several baboon monkeys that interested her. Saro-Wiwa states, “Be careful, Zanna warned as I walked towards the animal. ‘He hates women.’ When I approached the monkey it lunged at me, all teeth, paws and squeaks. Misogyny, even within the animal kingdom, was irritating and alarming” (Saro-Wiwa 166). This quote represents how even an animal displayed gender inequality in Nigeria. The fact that Zanna had to tell Saro-Wiwa that the monkey already hates women is an indication that Zanna is well informed about the gender mistreatment already.  It is interesting how Saro-Wiwa interpreted this encounter as misogynistic and how this occurs in the animal world as well.

Upon reading the Global/Multicultural Knowledge and Awareness UULO, I could connect the feelings of Saro-Wiwa’s in Nigeria to how it ties into the diverse perspective linked to gender and international culture. The integration of different cultures is something that Saro-Wiwa experienced while traveling in Nigeria. Being from London, the ethics, norms, gender roles, and cultures are going to be significantly different from where she is originally from. The diverse perspectives of gender is something that Saro-Wiwa heavily deals with while traveling to Nigeria. She experiences a different, unique, and distant use of culture in Nigeria. The treatment of women in Nigeria is an example of how diverse perspectives are applied to her story. It is a diverse perspective in that she has not visited Nigeria since she was a child, and has been regulated to London’s norms. The experience of Saro-Wiwa and Nigerian ethics allows her to feel more connected to her hometown in which she wants to recollect memories. The awareness and exploration of her travels in Nigeria ultimately lead to more education about the country’s truth and ethics in which she desired. 

In summary, Saro-Wiwa’s novel Looking for Transwonderland; Travels in Nigeria explores the gender norms of Nigeria. The experiences that Saro-Wiwa encounters act as a diverse perspective of her reasoning to travel in Nigeria, which was to recollect memories. The untold truth of the gender norms of Nigeria reveals heavy gender inequality that Saro-Wiwa does not feel comfortable with. The traveling experience allows Saro-Wiwa to expand her understanding and connections with her hometown in comparison to her growth without living there. Through the process of expressing her feelings as being a traveler, encountering mistreated gender norms, and processing her memories connect to the diverse perspectives of Nigeria which ultimately lead to Saro-Wiwa’s understanding of her country.