The Trial and Other Stories
The Trial and Other Stories
Ifeoma Okoye
African Heritage Press, 2005
Distributed by African Books Collective Limited
“The Trial and Other Stories” is a collection of poignant and painful narratives about widowhood in Nigeria. Written by Ifeoma Okoye, herself a widow, these stories represent a number of different situations that women find themselves in once widowed.
Okoye has managed to capture many different sides of women’s lives in her collection. Each experiences hardship, pain and suffering, but all persevere in the end, highlighting women’s capacities to struggle and triumph through adversity.
“Soul Healers” tells the story of Somadi, whose children were taken from her upon the death of her husband. Sent away from all that is familial, she is destined to live a life separate from her children, according to the traditional laws. Placing all of her trust in a taxi driver, she attempts to kidnap them from school, where she finds them hungry and uncared for by her former husband’s family. While they shy away from her at first, distrustful and afraid, they come around when she is forced to tell the taxi driver her story. And so does he, taking them to safety so that they may live together as mother and children.
In the next story, “Between Women,” Ebuka is a widow whose only daughter is being cared for by her mother-in-law. Ebuka is forced to work in the city for a family who regularly overworks and abuses her, just so she can provide financial support for her daughter. When her child falls sick and Ebuka asks for time off to bring money to the hospital, her boss, who never allows any time off, refuses. Forced to make a decision between losing her job and it’s financial security, or her daughter’s health, Ebuka chooses her daughter, running away in the early morning.
“A Strange Disease” offers a humorous solution to a serious problem. With the passing of her husband, Enu is left to fend off the advances of her late husband’s brother. Already married with two wives, selfish and demanding, Onumba does not make the ideal partner, but he won’t give up. Enu decides on a plan to make him less interested – using some white-out that a niece had left in her home, Enu paints her pubic area with it, and shows Onumba her “disease,” knowing full well that he dreads being ill. Her tactic works, and she is left to continue life free from his harassment.
In “The Voiceless Victim” a privileged woman is forced to confront her prejudices and stereotypes against homeless people, and a young, widowed mother in particular. Walking past an area where beggars frequent, she notices a young woman arguing with another beggar, and quickly dismisses her as just another lazy, homeless person. After a series of meetings, she learns that this young woman was forced into a marriage at an early age for the bride price she would get, which was needed to pay for medicine for her father. This young woman, Ebele, lost her husband and was forced into the streets to beg, having been unable to find any work. By telling this woman her story, Ebele forces her to confront these prejudices and makes her realize that Ebele is a victim of an unbalanced and unfair system.
The rest of the stories in this book continue on in the same way. Each tells a story, while at the same time allowing us insight into the realities faced by widows in Africa. Okoye has done an excellent job of allowing us to enter into the lives of diverse women, and inspires compassion and understanding.
* Reviewed by Karoline Kemp, a Commonwealth of Learning Young Professional Intern with Fahamu.