African Women in Novels Podcast by Eileen Omosa 

Welcome to episode ten of the African Women in Novels, a Podcast by Eileen Omosa, a Sociologist writing and publishing fiction in contemporary romance and Whodunit mysteries.

In the podcast, I reference books set in African to discuss how African women are portrayed in novels? During our discussions, I ask my guests and listeners for their views on a variety of issues, including the following questions:   

1.    Is the role of an African girl set long before she is born, or is she free to choose the life she desires?  

2.    The second question is - what role do African women play in shaping existing narratives on gender relations? 

3.    In 2021 I have added a third question - Does education open more opportunities or conflicts for African women? What does it take for a woman to balance career and cultural expectations?    

Stay on to the end of this episode to learn the journeys and roads traveled by some of the girls and women. For those of you who work in the development sector or scholars wanting to comprehend issues of human agency and decision-making– the issues I raise in this podcast provide some starting point to follow on-going narratives the position of the African girl or woman in society, and the broader topic of gender and gender relations. 

 I write and publish novels with a special focus on African women, but men are everywhere in the book – the reason being that the girls and women operate within families and communities where men are part of the set up. 

One unique reality of being a writer is that whenever an idea strikes or hits, it can persist, keep interrupting until one has few options but to sit and write. I write novels on change and adaptation, through which I seek to provide insights into the life of African girls and women who has attained high school to university level of education and are on a journey of becoming career women. The contemporary novels are in the genres of Women’s Fiction and romance. Within the genres, I write three different, but related series:  

1.    An African Woman’s Journey, made up of the following book titles: Ignited by Education, Slowed by a Baby, and Trapped Inside the Family Box – I use Sophia, a fictional character to ask and provide insights into the question on how African girls who have attained a minimum of university education navigate life while trying to balance career and cultural expectations? 

2.    An Immigrant’s Marriage is my second Trilogy, comprised of the following book titles: The Fear Within Us, the Family Between Us, and The Love Within Us. Through these novels, I ask and provide insights into how young Africans in Diaspora, especially those who live in the Western hemisphere, navigate the world of courtship and marriage. Since they live in a free world, how free are they from their extended families to make decisions and choices on whom to marry? Follow Omondi and Abikok, fictional characters from Kenya and South Sudan. They live in Canada where they meet and fall in love. Read the Trilogy to find out how free they are while they make decisions on their marriage.

In the last three or so months, a new book idea captured and held my attention and time. What about children from wealthy African families in African. How do they navigate the world of romance and marriage? Thus, my latest Series, To Love Outside the Club. The focus is how children from wealthy African families choose marriage partners? 

One assumption held by many people is that individuals and families that have acquired higher education, wealth and moved out of rural settings into cities, leave their cultural practices behind. Cities and other urban settings enable them freedom to make indi