Feminist discourses on utu and heshima in selected works by Tanzanian women writers
Feminist discourses on utu and heshima in selected works by Tanzanian women writers

Author(s): Izabela Romańczuk
Subject(s): Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: utu; heshima; Swahili literature; Swahili philosophy; women writers; feminist literary criticism
Summary/Abstract: The paper examines references to Swahili ethics in the literary works of Tanzanian women writers. It focuses in particular on analyzing the moral concepts of utu ‘humanity, morality’ and heshima ‘honor, respect, dignity’ discussed in the short play Heshima Yangu ‘My Honor’ by Penina Muhando Mlama from 1974 and the novel Mungu Hakopeshwi ‘God Doesn’t Borrow Time’ by Zainab Alwi Baharoon from 2017. The author argues that in their feminist critique, these two narratives turn to the basic principles of Swahili philosophy and reconstruct the discourse on the essence of humanity, morality and wisdom.

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