Zaynab Alkali

(3 February 1950 – )

Kanchana Ugbabe
University of Jos

BOOKS: The Stillborn (Harlow, U.K.: Longman,

1984);
The Virtuous Woman (Ikeja: Longman Nigeria, 1987);
The Cobwebs and Other Stories (Ikeja: Malthouse Press,
1997)—comprises “The Cobwebs,” “The
House of Dust,” “Saltless Ash,” “The Vaga-
bond,” “The Nightmare,” and “Footloose”;
The Descendants (Zaria: Tamaza, 2005);
The Initiates (Ibadan: Spectrum, 2007).

OTHER: Vultures in the Air: Voices from Northern Nige-

ria, edited by Alkali and Al Imfeld (Ibadan:
Spectrum, 1995).

SELECTED PERIODIC AL PUBLIC ATION—

UNCOLLECTED: “The Unwary Traveller,” Ganga:
Journal of Language and Literature, 4 (1998):
151–157.

Northern Nigerian novelist, short-story writer,

and essayist Zaynab Alkali brought a fresh voice and
a new dimension to women’s writing in Africa in the
early 1980s. Alkali explores women’s worlds through
their fantasies, dreams, and inner conflicts. She
denies being a feminist; however, the women protag-
onists in her novels have a spiritual independence
that is latent at the beginning and later asserts
itself—sometimes after they have gone through a
series of travails—and they emerge with a strong
sense of self. A winsome humility and modesty, com-
Zaynab Alkali ( from <http://everythinliterature.blogspot.com/
bined with a quiet determination to succeed, distin- 2007/08/zaynab-im-writing-my-own-personal-story.html>)
guish these women. Tradition and custom play a
crucial role in shaping the destinies of Alkali’s hero-
ines, who are bound by the expectations of behavior
appropriate to their gender. Education brings with it abeth Secondary School in Ilorin, Kwara State. In
emancipation and the ability to look to the future 1971 she married Mohammed Nur Alkali, director-
with maturity and strength. general of the Nigerian Institute of Political Strate-
Zaynab Tura-Mazila was born on 3 February gic Studies in Jos; they have six children. Zaynab
1950 in Garkida, Adamawa State, to Auta Wawuta Alkali earned a B.A. in English in 1973 and an M.A.
Jauni and Tembi Lynus Tura-Mazila, who had in African literature in 1980 from Ahmadu Bello
migrated from Borno State. She went to Queen Eliz- University in Zaria.

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Zaynab Alkali DLB 360

Cover for Alkali’s first novel (1984), which won the Association of Nigerian Authors Award for the best novel of the year
(Davis Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Umelo Ojinmah and Sule Egya cite Thomas where she would have an easy life, free from slimy
Hardy, Ernest Hemingway, and the African authors calabashes and evil-smelling goats. She looked down
Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thiong’o as Alkali’s at her coarse hands and feet. One of these days she
early influences, but mainly her maternal grand- would be a different woman, with painted nails and
parents, who were celebrated storytellers in their silky shining hair.” Li sneaks out to a dance in the vil-
community. lage square, where she encounters Habu Adams for
Alkali’s first novel, The Stillborn, was published the first time. They plan a life together in the city:
in 1984. Li is a thirteen-year-old who has completed she will be a teacher and he a doctor, and they will
her elementary education. Restless and impetuous, live in a “big European house full of servants.” But
she finds the atmosphere in the home of her auto- after they marry when she is fifteen, Habu abandons
cratic father, Baba, stifling; others see her indepen- her in the village. Four years pass. Finally, she goes to
dent spirit as rebelliousness and stubbornness. Her the city to find her husband. She discovers that he
chores are those every young girl is expected to per- has failed to become a doctor and is, instead, a sales-
form—sweeping the compound, fetching water man; he has also married another woman. The city
from the stream and firewood from the neighboring holds nothing for Li except frustration and despair.
area, and washing dishes. She longs to escape from The spontaneous and spirited girl becomes a grim
the boredom and drudgery of the village: “She was and somber woman. “It destroys dreams,” she says of
dreaming of a paradise called the ‘city.’ A place the city.

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DLB 360 Zaynab Alkali

Li dreams that her father’s home has burned They meet again during the journey when the trucks
down; she hurries back to the village and finds that break down, and again as a result of an accident.
he has died of an illness. She is pregnant and gives Omolola Ladele comments on the character pair-
birth to a daughter, Shuwa. Her father’s death leaves ings in the novel: “Nana’s quiet composure contrasts
her the “man of the house,” a position that is thrust with the daring precocity of Laila. Abubakar’s easy
upon her, but also one for which she has been psy- charm and innocuous rascality are contrasted with
chologically preparing herself. She has become Bello’s measured dignity.” The contrasts highlight
hardened and embittered by witnessing the experi- the character of Nana, who, in spite of her physical
ences of her sister, Awa, and her friend Faku, whose disability and the social limitations imposed on her
lives have been ruined by men who unleash violence because of her sex, emerges as a strong, mature, and
on them and then desert them. She knows that she attractive person; the inner beauty of the virtuous
has to find her own happiness, and at twenty-nine woman is emphasized. The accident results in the
she completes her studies at the Teachers’ College. deaths of several passengers, including Abubakar.
She becomes a successful teacher, but a lingering Nana, who has been quietly attracted to Bello, is now
emotional bond with Habu prompts her to return to strongly drawn to him. She is thrown into confusion
him in the city. An automobile accident has left him because Bello is “clearing a space” for himself in her
with crutches and regrets. At the end of the novel Li heart—“no one had ever possessed her heart except
is at his side, supporting him. “This is no time to her grandfather.” The novel ends with Nana and
crawl. It is time to learn to walk again,” she says. Bello parting on arrival at Nana’s destination, in the
The novel is episodic, with flashbacks and inte- hope of meeting again. Bello continues his journey
rior monologues. Seiyifa Koroye comments: “Wiry to King’s College in Logos.
and tough-minded, undefeated though brutalized, In the late 1980s and the 1990s Alkali taught at
Li emerges as the model of the heroic and truly lib- Bayero University in Kano and then at the University
erated woman.” The Stillborn won the Association of of Maiduguri in Borno State. She attended confer-
Nigerian Authors Award for the best novel of the ences and workshops, and gave public lectures on
year; the citation hailed the author as the “lone women’s education and women’s role in the family
female voice from the north.” in Nigeria. In August 1989 she participated in the
Alkali’s second novel, The Virtuous Woman, was International Writing Program at the University of
published in 1987. The title is taken from Proverbs Iowa. She obtained a Ph.D. in African literature and
31:10 and refers to Nana Ai, who is modest, vulnera- creative writing from Bayero University in 1995.
ble, and extremely conscious of her withered leg, a That same year she co-edited the literary anthology
result of polio at age six. Her grandfather, an herbal- Vultures in the Air: Voices from Northern Nigeria. In
ist, plays a prominent role in Nana’s upbringing in 1997 she attended the International Writers Confer-
the isolated village of Zuma after her parents are ence in Erlangen, Germany.
killed in an automobile accident. He is not demon- Also in 1997 Alkali published The Cobwebs and
strative in his affections, but there is a strong bond Other Stories, a collection of six pieces that had
between them: “Some people said he was a hard appeared in journals or anthologies. It won the Asso-
man devoid of human feelings. . . . Only the child ciation of Nigerian Authors award for the best col-
knew her grandfather well enough to see past the lection of short stories of the year. The stories show
iron cast of his self control, to the slow, deep stream the importance of education for women; without it,
of love and tranquility that ran beneath.” Nana and they blindly submit to marriage and subordination
her friend Laila undertake a long and arduous jour- to their husbands. In the title story Mama Dinar is
ney on bad roads in open trucks from Zuma in the married to Aliyu, a polygamist. He does not value
north to Her Majesty’s College in the city of Kudu in the education she receives at the university, but the
the south. It is also a psychological journey of self- transition from country to city and from wife to stu-
discovery during which the girls have experiences dent changes her worldview: “She now believed in
that test their strength of character. They meet two living by one’s own standards. Knowing one’s nature
personable young men, Abubakar and Bello, who and where one was going. What one wanted in life
are traveling in a different truck. The girls are and being in full control of one’s destiny.” But inde-
bound for Her Majesty’s College while the boys are pendence for a woman also brings guilt and confu-
going to King’s College. They initially meet at the sion as to her responsibilities, particularly with
Secretariat in Birnin Adama, where they present regard to her children. “House of Dust” traces the
themselves before the Secretary in order to collect plight of Maaya, a devoted wife who has given thirty-
their transport money and escort for the journey. five years to marriage and raising a family while her

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Zaynab Alkali DLB 360

pathetic light, shorn of his dignity; he is a spoilt

child, a whimpering fool, and “saltless ash,” a meta-
phor for complete and utter worthlessness. While
the man stubbornly refuses to recognize that he is
old and selfishly seeks pleasure in ever younger
women, the wives look beyond themselves to the wel-
fare of the large family. The only rivals they fear are
the “poor health and poverty” that would have
resulted from the addition of a third wife. “The
Nightmare” is a first-person narrative that takes the
reader into the daydreams of a young housewife
whose husband has taken three of the children to a
holiday resort for a week. The baby sleeps in the cot.
The dream turns into a nightmare when the young
woman finds herself in a supermarket where she is
trapped into paying for goods and services she had
not bargained for. The baby’s screams bring her
back to the real world and the reader to the story’s
end. In “Footloose” a con man narrates his personal
story of misfortune with great earnestness in a lan-
guage and tone that appeal to his victim. Once he
succeeds in his mission and money exchanges
hands, he moves on to a different location in search
of the next victim. The story is told from the per-
spective of a professional woman, the latest of his vic-
tims.
Alkali taught at Bayero University in Kano and
then at the University of Maiduguri in Borno State. She
was writer-in-residence at Wiepersdorf Castle in Ger-
many in April 1998. In 2000, after teaching at the Uni-
versity of Maiduguri for twenty-two years, she moved to
Cover for Alkali’s second novel (1987), about the journey to the National Primary Health Care Development
maturity of a young woman disabled by polio Agency in Abuja. Her paper “Female Muslim Perspec-
(Library of Congress)
tives on an African Future” was commissioned by
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main and presented
friends had opted for an education. When her hus- on 9 December 2002. In 2003 she became a professor
band, Abdu-Zak, dies suddenly, Maaya is shocked to of African literature and creative writing at the new
discover that he has a second family. The betrayal Nasarawa State University in Keffi, where she also held
cuts deep into her psyche for a time, but then, realiz- the post of deputy vice chancellor for administration
ing that is is never too late to be freed from bond- for four years, combining this role with the post of
age, she forges ahead with zeal to live as a free Dean, Faculty of Arts. She is currently the dean of the
woman. “The Vagabond” exposes the evils of mar- Postgraduate School.
riage imposed on girls in northern Nigeria. Many In its ambitious scope, The Descendants (2005)
become victims of VVF (vesico vaginal fistulae), a could be seen as Alkali’s magnum opus. The novel is
condition brought about by early childbirth. Rather divided into two parts. Part 1 introduces Magira
than send her daughter, Bibi, to school, Aunt Hilde Milli, the matriarch of an extended family in the vil-
gives the girl away in marriage at fifteen. Bibi’s life is lage of Ramta. Children are born; marriages are con-
now in ruins after three unsuccessful surgeries for tracted; disease, death, and migration occur. Magira
VVF, and her marriage has ended. In “Saltless Ash,” Milli presides over it all, stern and immutable; the
Hassan, the seventy-year-old chief of the village of vicissitudes of life have left her as strong as a rock.
Betadam, is contemplating taking a third wife into Wise and well-informed, she is determined to give
his polygamous household, but the first wife, Yabutu, the younger generation a good start in the right
and the much younger second wife, Amsa, conspire direction: “She knew education is the master key to
to block the plan. The story shows the man in a opportunities for a better life. Education opens

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DLB 360 Zaynab Alkali

doors and gives an individual an option in life.” She father, Battancha, and the rest of the family. Salvia
will take the younger ones “out of the land of igno- finds a wife and is a happy man who is no longer
rance and superstition, a land of poverty and dis- averse to life in the city. The community rejoices
ease.” Part 2 is the story of Magira Milli’s with Battancha that “God never leaves anybody
granddaughter, Seytu. She was a damaged woman, a behind.”
victim of an early marriage to a village head. But In Alkali’s novels and stories, friendship, empa-
Magira Milli’s prayers for Seytu have been answered, thy, and sisterhood exist between women—cousins,
and at thirty-nine she is a physician and a woman of co-wives, sisters, or a stepdaughter and stepmother.
charm and elegance. She has taken control of her The women gain strength and security from the
life and has separated from her philandering second wider networks of kinship as well. Her concern with
husband, the distinguished architect Yerima Gamma. women’s issues earned Alkali merit awards from the
Poised, educated, and sophisticated, she has put her National Council of Women’s Societies in 1997 and
tumultuous past behind her. She has much love to from the Association of Women Academics in 2000.
offer, and if a man cannot appreciate her, she moves on Her works have been translated into German,
to one who can. She is a fully-realized character who French, and Japanese.
demonstrates that education leads to self-reliance and Presenting a female point of view that is both
self-worth, which in turn brings economic indepen- subtle and complex, Alkali raises many questions
dence. Men are peripheral to the pursuit. In Seytu, the concerning gender inequality in northern Nigerian
“Alkali woman,” who is searching for meaning and sig- society. Her view of marriage can only be termed
nificance, torn between the country and the city, and cynical: wives are abused, silenced, deceived, and
enslaved by tradition but yearning for freedom and treated as inconsequential. Men disrupt the quiet
self-expression, has finally come of age. and constant flow of a woman’s life with their over-
Alkali’s descriptions of village life are vivid and sized egos and their selfishness. Women are kept in
pictorial. Modern products, attitudes and values, subjection, often without education, on account of
and foreign cultures disrupt this idyllic setting but cultural practices and religious beliefs. Alkali’s cen-
also bring benefits such as the improved health care tral characters who are educated—Li, Mama Dinar,
facilities in The Descendants. Dreams play an impor- and Seytu—demand equal partnership in marriage.
tant role in her fiction, giving the characters an Margaret Hauwa Kassam argues that “women
alternative to reality. from northern Nigeria write from behind the reli-
These themes are played out again in The Initi- gious and attitudinal veil about issues affecting
ates (2007). Set in the village of Debro, the novel women.” In the case of Zaynab Alkali’s protagonists,
focuses on the family of Battancha, a highly it has to be added that there is a combination of
respected and prosperous member of the closely- restraint and daring on the part of the women
knit community. Battancha’s son Samba is a success- behind the veil: they use the veil to subvert fixed
ful army officer who generously, if indiscreetly, notions of female experience. If they are veiled, they
spreads his wealth in the community. Salvia, the choose to be so because it adds to their beauty and
younger son, is a more sober individual, a visionary mystery.
who shuns city life and chooses to live in the village.
He helps to improve the life of the community by Interview:
undertaking projects with the help of other young
people in the village. Salvia falls into a trance from Adeola James, “Zaynab Alkali,” in In Their Own
time to time and is able to “see” what the average Voices: African Women Writers Talk, edited by
person does not see. Samba is involved in a plot to James (London: James Currey / Portsmouth,
overthrow the corrupt government of the day. N.H.: Heinemann, 1990), pp. 28–32.
Rumor has it that he has been arrested and taken
away. Battancha sends Salvia to the city, together References:
with the young ones, Barka and Bako, to find out the Femi Abodunrin, “Literature and Culture in North-
whereabouts of Samba and give him the assistance ern Nigeria: The Novels of Ibrahim Tahir and
he may need. In the city, Salvia falls into a trance and Zaynab Alkali,” in Essays on Northern Nigerian
he returns to Debro, a changed man. There is a Literature, edited by Oba Abdul Raheem
change in government, and political prisoners are (Zaria: Hamdan Express Printers, 1990), pp.
pardoned and released from prison. After six years, 40–48;
Samba returns home from a neighboring country I. O. O. Amali, “Zaynab Alkali: A Preliminary Bio-
where he had taken refuge. He is reunited with his Bibliography,” West African Journal of Language,

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Zaynab Alkali DLB 360

Literature and Criticism, 1, no. 2 (1999): pp. 69– edited by Yemi Ogunbiyi (Lagos: Guardian,
80; 1988), pp. 327–332;
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ties, 3, no. 3 (2005): 108–121; Women, edited by Newell (London: Zed Books,
Shirin Edwin, “We Belong Here, Too: Accommodat- 1997), pp. 126–136;
ing African Muslim Feminism in African Femi- C. U. Ogbuehi, “The Artist with a Herculean Task:
nist Theory via Zaynab Alkali’s The Virtuous The Literary Input of Zaynab Alkali in Social
Woman and The Cobwebs and Other Stories,” Fron- Transformation,” Nsukka Journal of the Humani-
tiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 27, no. 3 ties, no. 11 (2000–2001): 89–99;
(2006): 140–156; Isaac Attah Ogezi, “A Celebration of Zaynab Alkali’s
Ismail Bala Garba, “‘Of Real Freedom and Gender The Descendants,” AfricanWriter.Com (6 May
Equality’: A Re-appraisal of Zaynab Alkali’s The 2007) <http://www.africanwriter.com/articles/
Stillborn,” JENda: A Journal of Culture and Afri- 125/1/A-Celebration-Of-Zaynab-Alkalis-The-
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R. A. Ibrahim, “Growing Wings: A Feminist Critique nab Alkali (Abuja: RON, 2005);
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Margaret Hauwa Kassam, “Behind the Veil in North- of the African Activist Association, 24 (Fall 1996):
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Popular Culture and Literature in West Africa, Dreams: Analysis of Zaynab Alkali’s Novels,” in
edited by Stephanie Newell (London: Zed Literature and Black Aesthetics, edited by Dele
Books, 1997), pp. 117–125; Orisawayi and others, Calabar Studies in African
Seiyifa Koroye, “The Ascetic Feminist Vision of Zay- Literature, no. 5 (Ibadan: Heinemann Educa-
nab Alkali,” in Nigerian Female Writers, edited by tional Books, 1990), pp. 158–166;
Henrietta Otukunefor and Obiageli Nwodo Anthonia Yakubu, “The Woman as Incomplete: A
(Lagos: Malthouse Press, 1989), pp. 126–136; Re-appraisal of Zaynab Alkali’s The Stillborn,”
Omolola Ladele, “Zaynab Alkali,” in Perspectives on Journal of Cultural Studies, 1, no. 1 (1996): 126–
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