Tomorrow I became a woman

Just read this book and I can't tell you how many times I put my phone down and shouted, grabbed my hair because this is not real, you can tell me that women went through this.

Hi book lovers, it's Abeegail again, welcome to my blog. Long time no book review but lucky you I came I across this book and this is my time to yap because there's a lot to talk about. I'm so glad I found my way back to African Prose again, I didn't know why I left in the first place. I've seen the hype around the book and I can confidently say it's worth the hype.

"Tomorrow I became a woman", written by, Aiwanose Odafen, takes us on a journey through Obianuju ("Uju") life, a young woman in Nigeria, set in the late1970s into the 1990s when Nigeria was still trying to gain her political foot. With the political backdrop, themes such as social expectations, marriage, gender inequality, motherhood, friendship, and survival. A very gentle warning if you are a girl or lady with low threshold for rage baiting content well thread carefully because it will test you, just like it did to me.

Now when I saw the title I was intrigued, i thought I would be a coming-of-age, where the girl discovers what it is to be a woman and is just filled with light as she fins her purpose of being a woman. Partly it is, but "Tomorrow I became a woman" shows that in a blunt and bitter way, that makes you question if you want to be a woman at all. For Uju, "becoming a woman" is not presented as freedom, it never was, it was just a bunch of stupid expectations. Through out this novel was a bitter sweet experience, because I know how many times I shouted at Uju to come off it, to leave the oppressive system, but I realise that it hard to leave something you seek validation from. From the beginning Uju brought into the lie that marriage presented, way to quick, but she did it to please her mother and the standard that society has set. The made me also see that Uju was written in way that showed how human she was, not matter how much she suffered, she endured because she wanted to accepted, because she is influenced by family expectations, cultural pressure and religious beliefs. Because if she did so she'll be fighting against, the identity she was taught to embrace.

The book also made me realise how deep rooted internalised misogyny is and how women help push the very system that cause them harm without knowing because that's how they were brought up. We can see Uju's mother who constantly tells her to endure domestic abuse that could have ended her life and that of her children. But one thing that sheds light in this dark tale is the friendship between Uju's, Adaugo and Chinelo. It was the best part in novel. They are eachother source of joy and comfort, and never fail to give advice where necessary. But it also works because they also have their fair share of bad moments and frustration and it reminds me that friendship matters just as much as romantic ones.

This book is no necessarily about feminism, marriage, abuse, misogyny or patriarchy. It's about Identity. Who is a girl child untill society dictates what she should be, what exactly is womanhood, who gets to tell a woman who she can and can't be, and how much of a woman can be chipped when she lives for other people needs. The book, is an intelligent display of serious issues going on in the women community. I applied book like this that creates awareness as to how women are being treated in the society.

I remember reading through and the first thought that came to my mind is "I understand why feminism is so important"
I get a bit pissed when I hear girls say they are not feminist because if the women before us didn't fight hard enough we would not have the rights we currently do and although patriarchy and misogyny doesn't have us on chokehold we still have residue of it in the age. So be feminist.

It's Still Abeegail ✨💗
Living one book at a time.

The images are mine.
The first one is a screenshot of the pdf cover page