Linguistic justice for women: A critical discourse analysis of gendered power in selected Nollywood films

Abstract

Justice for women remains a critical focal point within global human rights discourses. While legal and institutional reforms are essential, the role of language in reinforcing patriarchal structures or empowering women is frequently overlooked. This paper interrogates linguistic choices at interpersonal, institutional, and policy levels that systematically disadvantage women, using two Nollywood films as case studies of contemporary cultural discourse. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study utilizes secondary data alongside critical intuition, situating its analysis within the complementary frameworks of Liberal Feminism and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Liberal Feminism highlights how legal policies and structural reforms can dismantle gender inequality by securing individual rights, while CDA, drawing on the theories of Norman Fairclough, Teun A. van Dijk, and Ruth Wodak, exposes how everyday linguistic choices in cultural texts reflect and reproduce societal power imbalances. The findings reveal that patriarchal dominance is subtly maintained through condescending and exclusionary language embedded in contemporary narratives. This paper argues that achieving linguistic justice requires intentional, gender-inclusive language use alongside a paradigm shift in media production. It concludes with a recommendation for policy interventions and legal frameworks that penalize defamatory and condescending discourse against women to foster lasting social compliance.