When Enough is Enough: Breaking Free from Intimate Partner Violence in YejideKilanko’s <i>Chasing Butterflies</i>

Abstract

Gender-based violence has become a common feature in gender relations globally, with women as the main victims. However, despite the fact that violence against women has been recognized as a violation of their human rights, the African society, in particular, is still plagued by gendered violence particularly in families. Adopting postmodern feminism as a theoretical framework, this article examines Kilanko’s portrayal of the devastating impact of gender-based violence, particularly intimate partner violence, on the female protagonist in Chasing Butterflies. In so doing, it establishes that dominant gendered norms and unequal power relations between men and women in the African society are the root causes of violence against women in intimate partner relationships such as marriage. The article, therefore, explores avenues of awareness-raising in the novel, as well as options and resources through which women can be effectively empowered to confront and surmount their status as victims leading to the realization of their rights and freedom.