The Message "Akata Witch" by Nnedi Okorafor Sends to Women and Minorities
"The best thing to do is be who you’ve been, don’t move, stay where you are, drop all ambition as a Leopard Person. Relax. Do not strive too high. Learn but do not use. And only learn the basics. It is best to remain in your protective shell. Ambition is not your friend. Be glad the Leopard world has been opened to you, but remain a mere spectator." (Okorafor, 79)
Very rarely have I seen a witch story that isn't eurocentric. In Akata Witch, not a single European character is even introduced. Akata Witch covers topics that many other cultures would rather leave neglected. Rarer still is an empowering story, not for just women, but for people of every sort who posses a trait that society doesn't deem "normal". In essence, everyone.
In the Leopard world, things that would have gotten you bullied or even outcasted as a Lamb, are regarded as sources of power. This book is so important for kids in their formative teenage years to feel confident in every part of themselves. Akata Witch leads people in every generation to take their insecurities and feel otherworldly about them. Even things as small as pimples aren't seen as things to be rid of immediately. You are taught to love yourself as you come, and not standards that others set for you.
All of us, of every race, gender, sexuality, and every other arbitrary category society can try to classify and marginalize us with, we all deserve to be celebrated as we are.
Akata Witch, even if for a moment, lets you believe in a world where that might really happen.
In the quote posted above, Akata Witch makes commentary on how this wonderful world of acceptance isn't the real world. In this quote, Okorafor makes parallel to the fact that women, minorities, and other marginalized groups are often told to sit still and strive to stay subsidiary in society. Too many awful people are shockingly afraid of these groups in positions of power, such as CEOs and government representatives. These bigoted people would rather convince themselves that they are welcoming, when really they are only comfortable when these people when they are in their peripheral. When someone they don't approve of comes into the spotlight, their true bigotry is revealed. Suddenly their "welcoming" is replaced with orders to stay in their place.
I absolutely adore the inclusion of the book Fast Facts for Free Agents within the story. The Free Agents book was written by a pureblood Leopard person and introduced the concept of bias to its young reader. It teaches them not to listen to voices in their lives that try to push them down for any reason.
Similarly, the role of women in horror is more often than not, to be the feeble, helpless victim in need of saving. In Akata Witch, women need no saving. They not only hold equal, if not greater power than men in the mortal world, and dominate even further in a world beyond. I thought it was a beautiful twist to make both the Supreme Creator, a god-like figure, and Ekwensu, a devil-like figure, female.
As a woman myself, I could relate entirely to Sunny's situation. Rules and responsibilities imposed on women in great abundance are seen nowhere in lives of her male counterparts. She grows tired of her parents' double standards and heavy handed criticisms. Her father didn't want a girl, much less an albino one, and could never fully accept her. These incongruities in the world of men and women are things young girls face every day.
Sunny also notes that women and marginalized groups also often face harsher criticism and higher scrutiny if they do strive to succeed. The soccer game was such a powerful scene for me, as it truly demonstrated the prejudice others hold in people who are different. They are written off from the beginning and must work harder to achieve what others can simply by condition of their birth.
Akata Witch features a range of representation. It is so vitally important to one's development (in the age group that this book is aimed for) to know that you have a home, you have a community, you have something to relate to within this book. This applies to across all cultures. Even if your culture doesn't accept you, you are still valid and your differences are powerful. There are people in the world who relish the things that make you beautiful and different. You are not a victim, you are not helpless.
Very rarely have I seen a witch story that isn't eurocentric. In Akata Witch, not a single European character is even introduced. Akata Witch covers topics that many other cultures would rather leave neglected. Rarer still is an empowering story, not for just women, but for people of every sort who posses a trait that society doesn't deem "normal". In essence, everyone.
In the Leopard world, things that would have gotten you bullied or even outcasted as a Lamb, are regarded as sources of power. This book is so important for kids in their formative teenage years to feel confident in every part of themselves. Akata Witch leads people in every generation to take their insecurities and feel otherworldly about them. Even things as small as pimples aren't seen as things to be rid of immediately. You are taught to love yourself as you come, and not standards that others set for you.
All of us, of every race, gender, sexuality, and every other arbitrary category society can try to classify and marginalize us with, we all deserve to be celebrated as we are.
Akata Witch, even if for a moment, lets you believe in a world where that might really happen.
In the quote posted above, Akata Witch makes commentary on how this wonderful world of acceptance isn't the real world. In this quote, Okorafor makes parallel to the fact that women, minorities, and other marginalized groups are often told to sit still and strive to stay subsidiary in society. Too many awful people are shockingly afraid of these groups in positions of power, such as CEOs and government representatives. These bigoted people would rather convince themselves that they are welcoming, when really they are only comfortable when these people when they are in their peripheral. When someone they don't approve of comes into the spotlight, their true bigotry is revealed. Suddenly their "welcoming" is replaced with orders to stay in their place.
I absolutely adore the inclusion of the book Fast Facts for Free Agents within the story. The Free Agents book was written by a pureblood Leopard person and introduced the concept of bias to its young reader. It teaches them not to listen to voices in their lives that try to push them down for any reason.
Similarly, the role of women in horror is more often than not, to be the feeble, helpless victim in need of saving. In Akata Witch, women need no saving. They not only hold equal, if not greater power than men in the mortal world, and dominate even further in a world beyond. I thought it was a beautiful twist to make both the Supreme Creator, a god-like figure, and Ekwensu, a devil-like figure, female.
As a woman myself, I could relate entirely to Sunny's situation. Rules and responsibilities imposed on women in great abundance are seen nowhere in lives of her male counterparts. She grows tired of her parents' double standards and heavy handed criticisms. Her father didn't want a girl, much less an albino one, and could never fully accept her. These incongruities in the world of men and women are things young girls face every day.
Sunny also notes that women and marginalized groups also often face harsher criticism and higher scrutiny if they do strive to succeed. The soccer game was such a powerful scene for me, as it truly demonstrated the prejudice others hold in people who are different. They are written off from the beginning and must work harder to achieve what others can simply by condition of their birth.
Akata Witch features a range of representation. It is so vitally important to one's development (in the age group that this book is aimed for) to know that you have a home, you have a community, you have something to relate to within this book. This applies to across all cultures. Even if your culture doesn't accept you, you are still valid and your differences are powerful. There are people in the world who relish the things that make you beautiful and different. You are not a victim, you are not helpless.
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