Women are suffering
In Besi Heads short story "Life" the main character is murdered by her husband. He gets sentenced by a white judge to only a few years in prison. In Heads short story "The Collector of Treasures," the protagonist, Dikeledi, murders her husband and is sentenced to life prison. By putting these two short stories into their historical context to be analyzed, it would be so clear that there are certain issues that has been raised during the events of these stories like; sexism, representation of women, the new stereotypical images that has been created by the colonizers in the mind of many African men. I will discuss these issues in relation to these short stories and Amina Mama's essay.
Although the two characters have been committed the same crime which was taken a human life; they didn't have the same punishment. For me, I think the judgment was based on sexism which made it unfair judgment. It's true that men and women are physically, emotionally, and mentally different and each one has his own way to see things so they can't have the same punishment even if they committed the same crime. According to this statement women may have a reductive sentence, because they are more passionate and easily lose control of themselves unlike men. But what we see in these short stories is the other way a round.
"The judge who was a white man and therefore not involved in Tswana custom and its debates was as much impressed by Lesego's manner as all the village men had been. 'This is a crime of passion,' he said sympathetically. 'So there are extenuating circumstances. But it is still a serious crime to take a human life so I sentence you to five years imprisonment" (Bessie, Head 'life' 46)
this example prove that the universal exist of sexism that the white judge who is not familiar of their customs and culture did have a discriminate judgment just because the killer is a man regardless to what he did.
As feminist reader I can see clearly who mush women were struggling to
Although the two characters have been committed the same crime which was taken a human life; they didn't have the same punishment. For me, I think the judgment was based on sexism which made it unfair judgment. It's true that men and women are physically, emotionally, and mentally different and each one has his own way to see things so they can't have the same punishment even if they committed the same crime. According to this statement women may have a reductive sentence, because they are more passionate and easily lose control of themselves unlike men. But what we see in these short stories is the other way a round.
"The judge who was a white man and therefore not involved in Tswana custom and its debates was as much impressed by Lesego's manner as all the village men had been. 'This is a crime of passion,' he said sympathetically. 'So there are extenuating circumstances. But it is still a serious crime to take a human life so I sentence you to five years imprisonment" (Bessie, Head 'life' 46)
this example prove that the universal exist of sexism that the white judge who is not familiar of their customs and culture did have a discriminate judgment just because the killer is a man regardless to what he did.
As feminist reader I can see clearly who mush women were struggling to