The Reader By Judith Van Allen And Janheinz Jahn

The readings in the Reader by Judith Van Allen and Janheinz Jahn show what life was like for women and their roles in society. Jahn tells the life of a girl named Ewumi and describes what her duties were like as a woman. From a young age, Ewumi experienced what the gender roles were and how she was expected to live as she got older. When she became of age, she was able to pick a suitor. This surprised me because I thought that the women did not have a say in who they married. Women were expected to become pregnant every three years and carry their children on their backs while carrying other items or working. When Ewumi gives birth to an abiku child, it is believed that he will not survive unless he gets everything that he wants. If the child