VIOLENCE AND THE GIRL-CHILD IN SELECTED NOVELS OF BUCHI EMECHETA, YVONNE VERA, NURUDDIN FARAH AND IKECHUKWU ASIKA
- Project Research
- 1-5 Chapters
- Abstract : Available
- Table of Content: Available
- Reference Style: APA
- Recommended for : Student Researchers
- NGN 3000
Background to the Study
Violence has remained a very complex subject which takes different dimensions in societies of the world today. It is not only a global issue which violates human rights, but a challenge to everyone. Currently, violence seems to be very rampant in many societies because some fundamental human rights are abused without any strict monitoring or form of severe punishment to the offenders. As a result, individuals are physically, emotionally and psychologically harmed through violent actions or behaviours. Based on the above consequences, it is right to say that violence negates the need for justice, tolerance, mutual respect and dignity for human life. Undoubtably, violence is an abuse of human rights which impedes on the establishment of healthy and rewarding relationships. Violence occurs when there is a violation of human rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of choice as seen in rape, forced marriage, gender discrimination and oppression. Unarguably, a victim of violence may react to violence by abusing other people in society or hurting herself. By doing so, violence is reproduced and perpetuated in society. Thus, violence becomes a serious problem that must be eradicated to achieve harmony in society. Generally, violence may be political, personal, social, cultural, religious or economic depending on the situations surrounding a given society. It is perceived as any form of treatment that causes injury or damage to an individual or a group of persons. The term “violence” according to World Health Organization is “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, 2 against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation” (Krug et al World Report on Violence and Health 1). According to Black Law Dictionary, “violence is synonymous with ‘physical force’, and the two are used interchangeably, in relation to assaults” (1). Kristine Jacquin also sees violence as an act of physical force that causes or is intended to cause harm” (1 ). Jacquin further asserts that “the damage inflicted by violence may be physical, psychological, or both” (1). The above definitions stress the destructive nature of violence as a universal phenomenon which varies vastly throughtout the world. Based on the above view, Remi Anifowose observes that “Violence has been used by groups seeking power, by groups holding power and by groups in the process of losing power” (Violence in Politics 1). Anifowose further explains that violence has been pursued in “the defense of order by the privileged, in the name of justice by the oppressed and in fear of displacement by the threatened” (1). The concept, nature and scope of violence are varied and complex. In fact, the definition of violence is interpreted based on “the act of force or in terms of a violation” (Bufacchi 193). According to Vittorio Bufacchi, Those who define violence as an international act of excessive or destructive force endorse a narrow conception of violence (the Minimalist Conception of Violence or MCV), while those who see violence in terms of a violation of rights champion a broader conception of violence (the Comprehensive Conception of Violence or CCV). (193) The views above unarguably separate the nature of physical violence from the problems of violations. In fact, the issue of violence has remained a topic of serious debate because it involves an act of inflicting emotional and physical injury. This debate on violence is significant as a result of the manner in which violence is related to force. Dewey argues that “violence is 3 force gone wrong, or, put in another way, force that is destructive and harmful: energy becomes violence when it defeats or frustrates purposes instead of executing or realizing it” (qtd. in Bufacchi 195). Significantly, Dewey stresses that “when the dynamite charge blows up human beings instead of rocks, when its outcome is waste instead of production, destruction instead of construction, we call it not energy or power but violence” (qtd. in Bufacchi 195). Steger, for instance, sees violence as “the intentional infliction of physical or psychological injury on a person or persons” (13). Steger’s argument is very clear because his definition possesses a prominent characteristic that interprets violence as a deliberate act of causing pain. Therefore, defining violence within the scope of intentional or deliberate act, is an indication that an individual purposely uses “physical violence in a way that blocks another’s exercise of her legitimate claim-rights” (Pogge 67).
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