RECONSTRUCTING AFRICAN GENDERED CULTURE THROUGH CRITICAL LITERACY AND LANGUAGE USE

Abstract

Critical literacy (CL, henceforth) empowers individuals to redefine themselves and enables society to reconstruct its systems and structures. Concerned with the negative portrayal of women embedded in Africa’s gendered culture and language use, this study advocates for the sustained and widespread application of CL to challenge and transform long-standing gendered customs, traditions, and linguistic practices in contemporary Africa. The study is grounded in Freire’s Theory of Critical Literacy, which equips individuals and groups with critical consciousness, referred to as conscientisation, to overcome socio-political indoctrination within society. Drawing on this theoretical framework, the study argues that CL can awaken both individual and collective awareness, leading to the reconstruction of entrenched gendered norms in cultural and linguistic contexts. The research employs a systematic review, descriptive survey, content analysis, and interpretive tools to analyze secondary data, which the study relies on exclusively. The analysis reveals that CL is a viable and sustainable problem-solving tool capable of challenging and reconstructing negative representations of women perpetuated through gendered cultural and linguistic practices. The study concludes that, with critical consciousness and a willingness to embrace innovation, deeply rooted gendered constructions, both cultural and linguistic, can be effectively transformed. Among its recommendations, the study emphasizes the need to popularize CL as a means of challenging negative social constructs, regardless of their historical persistence. In addition, teachers and other agents of socialization should equip individuals and groups with CL skills and guide them in applying these skills to reconstruct harmful narratives within society.