The Claws of Tradition

The Claws of Tradition is a book with an African setting that highlights the plight of the girl child. Girls, in their lives have to fight the deep rooted effects of tradition in their bid to gain formal education. Major hurdles include male chauvinism, early marriages and female genital mutilation(fgm). Formal education finds its way to the villages through the missionaries but locals receive it with mixed reactions. Lembul, a village elder had partially embraced the...
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The Claws of Tradition is a book with an African setting that highlights the plight of the girl child. Girls, in their lives have to fight the deep rooted effects of tradition in their bid to gain formal education. Major hurdles include male chauvinism, early marriages and female genital mutilation(fgm). Formal education finds its way to the villages through the missionaries but locals receive it with mixed reactions.

Lembul, a village elder had partially embraced the white man's teachings at the expense of tradition. His two wives took opposing stands. One fully embraced while another resisted equally.
Naserian, Lembul's wife enrolls her children at the missionary center and at the end, they rip big. Soila, her daughter shines bright at school and secures a scholarship to study abroad but her stepmother and father with the help of villagers had a different plan. They plan for her early marriage and as a tradition, marriage was impossible before she gets circumcised.

Soila's plan is thwarted as she gets captured before escaping to a neighbouring country. Eventually, she gets the the cut. Her health deteriorates with time and finally, the village lamp goes off.