{"id":259285,"date":"2023-05-07T10:34:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-07T08:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/childrens-book-revolution-how-east-african-women-took-on-colonialism-after-independence\/"},"modified":"2023-05-07T10:34:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T08:34:08","slug":"childrens-book-revolution-how-east-african-women-took-on-colonialism-after-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/childrens-book-revolution-how-east-african-women-took-on-colonialism-after-independence\/","title":{"rendered":"Children’s book revolution: how East African women took on colonialism after independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

As independence from British colonial rule swept across East Africa in the early 1960s and freedom was won in Uganda<\/a>, Kenya<\/a> and Tanzania<\/a>, parents and teachers worried about what their children were reading.<\/p>\n

Most children\u2019s books on the market were dominated by European writers like Enid Blyton<\/a>. One of Kenyan writer Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiongo\u2019s<\/a> most stringent criticisms of colonialism was the explosive effect of this \u201ccultural bomb\u201d in the classroom, as missionaries taught African students western cultures and foreign histories. This, according to Kenyan publisher Henry Chakava, was producing<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

a new breed of black Europeans, who began to despise their own skin and background. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Publishers and African writers were quick to realise the gap in the market for literature that was suitable for a new generation growing up in independence. From the mid-1960s onwards, publishing houses began a concerted effort to produce such literature. What\u2019s particularly noteworthy is that most of these authors of children\u2019s books in this period were women. <\/p>\n

\n

Read more: The story of an African children’s book that explains the science of skin colour<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n

As an historian of East Africa, these women writers and their children\u2019s books formed part of my doctoral research<\/a>. Not only have they been largely ignored by history, but their voices matter because through them we receive a unique insight into this period of East African history.<\/p>\n

The women writers of independence<\/h2>\n

In the 1960s, ideas of decolonisation<\/a> and Afrocentrism<\/a> dominated East African culture and academia. The 1962 African Writers Conference<\/a> was convened at Uganda\u2019s Makerere College (today Makerere University). The University of Nairobi\u2019s English Department was dissolved in a 1968 revolution<\/a> led by East African writers and thinkers. It was replaced by a department of literature, and a department of linguistics and African languages. But such discourse happened mainly inside elite intellectual spaces and small circles. <\/p>\n

We mainly know of male voices in East African literature from this period \u2013 the likes of Ng\u016bg\u012b, Okot p’Bitek<\/a> and Taban lo Liyong<\/a>. As men, they had more educational and professional opportunities, and better access to publishing networks. Women writers were seldom published and often dismissed or even ridiculed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\"A<\/div>\n

<\/a>

<\/span> Oxford University Press<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They found a gap in children\u2019s literature. Women writers took it upon themselves to educate children about independence and the meaning of decolonisation. They did this outside of the academy\u2019s ivory tower, with popular work that trickled down to all levels of society.<\/p>\n

These authors included Barbara Kimenye<\/a>, Asenath Bole Odaga<\/a>, Miriam Khamadi Were<\/a>, Pamela Kola<\/a>, Anne Matindi<\/a>, Elvania Namukwaya Zirimu<\/a> and Marjorie Macgoye<\/a>. <\/p>\n

They wrote for children of all ages, creating fiction, folk tales, and works used in school textbooks. With their words, the women imparted lessons they believed were important for the post-independence generation to learn in order to undo colonialism\u2019s \u201ccultural bomb\u201d. These were works of transformative potential that foregrounded African settings and lessons.<\/p>\n

The Moses series<\/h2>\n

Some of the best known African children\u2019s books of the 1960s and 1970s included the Moses series by Ugandan author Barbara Kimenye<\/a>, one of East Africa\u2019s most celebrated children\u2019s book writers. The series follows the adventures and misdemeanours of Moses and his friends at the ficitional Ugandan boarding school, Mukibi\u2019s Educational Institute for the Sons of African Gentlemen. The Moses series was published between 1968 and 1987 by Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n

Moses in Trouble<\/a>, the fifth in the series, centres on an upheaval at Mukibi\u2019s due to poor school meals. Moses and his friend King Kong \u201csneak off to the village duka (shop) to buy a packet of biscuits\u201d and are later forced to go to nearby farms to steal food. Eventually, Moses is hospitalised with malnutrition. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\"A<\/div>\n

<\/a>

<\/span> Oxford University Press<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the seriousness of the topic, the narrative is humorous, and the Moses series remained popular for decades. The book contains subtle criticism of post-colonial political oppression. Mukibi\u2019s can be seen as a replication of the (post) colonial state: it restricts the boys\u2019 movements and demands complete obedience to authority, but fails to provide basic necessities. <\/p>\n

With Moses in Trouble, Kimenye encourages even young readers to remain critical of authority, especially in a time when then-president Milton Obote<\/a>\u2019s rule in Uganda was becoming increasingly authoritarian. <\/p>\n

Folk tales<\/h2>\n

African folk tales were another popular literary genre for children. African publishers encouraged that these be written and distributed across East Africa. One example is the collection East African Why Stories<\/a> by Kenyan author Kola. It was published by East African Publishing House in 1966. <\/p>\n

The stories recount the origins of the habits and characteristics of animals native to Kenya, with titles such as Why the Hippo Has No Hair or Why Baby Chickens Follow Their Mothers. As an educator, Kola understood the need for African stories to be read by African children. She wrote down the stories as they were told to her by her grandmother in the local Luo language before translating them into English. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\"A<\/div>\n

<\/a>

<\/span> East African Publishing House<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The oral origins of the stories are reflected in the entertaining, conversational style in which they are written. Reading traditional folk stories was a way for African children to remain in touch with their heritage, which the colonial education system effectively eradicated.<\/p>\n

Why this matters<\/h2>\n

The works of male authors continue to be celebrated today for their contributions to the East African literary canon. Fewer remember the role children\u2019s book authors played in the Africanisation of written literature in the 1960s and 1970s \u2013 probably because most of them were women<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking beyond the texts discussed here, the women critiqued colonialism and neocolonialism, inequality, oppression, patriarchy and state authoritarianism, often representing marginalised communities. <\/p>\n

\n

Read more: Five things you should know about Ngugi wa Thiong’o, one of Africa’s greatest living writers<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n

In writing for young readers, these writers imparted their hopes for independence to them. Their texts reached all echelons of society, exposing children to ideas that allowed them to understand their changing world while serving as an antidote to Eurocentric education.<\/p>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As independence from British colonial rule swept across East Africa in the early 1960s and freedom was won in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, parents and teachers worried about what their children were reading. Most children\u2019s books on the market were dominated by European writers like Enid Blyton. One of Kenyan writer Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiongo\u2019s most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":259286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-259285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/childrens-book-revolution-how-east-african-women-took-on-colonialism-after-independence.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}