Abstract
\nBuchi Emecheta in Joys of Motherhood deals with colonial times in Nigeria and the
\nsocial status quo during the period. The novel is a critique in postcolonial feminism based on
\nAfrican culture. Parallels are drawn in both the theories with the white race calling the tune
\nin the former and the male gender doing the same in the latter. The power politics, which sets
\nthe rules of the game, marks out the Black African woman as distinctly the second class in
\nboth the cases, as she is subjugated in both racist and sexist terms The imported cultural
\nvalues and outlook are passed on to the colonized African, thus bringing on feelings of
\nambivalence in them, where they constantly oscillate between the old and the new world
\norder. Yet, towards the end of the novel, the African women make use of the colonial
\nconditions to subvert the roles social hegemony imposes upon her.<\/p>\n