GENDER CONFLICT: THE RESTRICTIONS AND LIBERATION IN DALENE MATTHEE’S CIRCLES IN A FOREST AND THE MULBERRY FOREST

Abstract

Over the years, the feminist movement has focused on gender equality, equity and the rights of women in societies around the world. This has been the general preoccupation of different varieties of feminism including European, African, Christian, Islamic and Jewish strands of feminism that advocate for equal rights and opportunities for women in the society. Such advocacies by women still continue today as a number of societal ideologies and constructions still stifle and stereotype the woman; causing her to be restricted and limited in her quest to fulfil her dreams and desires. This article employs Dalene Matthee’s Circles in a Forest and The Mulberry Forest to discuss gender Conflict: The Restrictions and Liberation, while looking at the assertive quest of the woman for self-liberation in a male dominated society. This paper finds that societal ideologies such as cultural practices, race, status and gender demarcations are the different structures that place barriers on the woman’s path, and concludes that steps should be taken by stakeholders to liberate the woman from societal constructions.