Commodification of the Female Body and Domestic Servitude in Chika Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers

Abstract

Africans enamored with the prospect of a better life in Europe and America often fall prey to traffickers who render them vulnerable. Also, in an attempt to get a life of bliss, a host of migrants tend to seek asylum to remain in the host country. This study aims to investigate the socio-economic experiences of African migrants in the diaspora and the despair and disillusionment that characterize migrant characters in Chika Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers as they grapple with their expectations and the actual realities in Europe and America. The study is premised on the assumption that characters in the texts understudy facing the need to survive in the diaspora tend to commercialize their bodies to make ends meet while others become domestic servants. Tenets of the postcolonial theory such as migration, identity, race and gender are used for analysis. The findings prove that while men become domestic servants and engage in sham marriages in a bid to give meaning to their lives, a host of women become sex workers. The woman’s body particularly, is used as a site for control, oppression, political and economic gains. The ultimate benefit of this analysis is to raise awareness on the dangers of illegal migration.