Zaynab Alkali: A Feminist Icon

Zaynab Alkali is an acclaimed author, essayist and poet from Northern Nigeria. She was born into the Turah-Mazila family of Borno and Adamawa States in 1950.

Zaynab attended Queen Elizabeth Secondary School, Ilorin. She also attended Bayero University, which was at the time under Ahmadu Bello University.

She is often regarded as the first female novelist from Northern Nigeria. Zaynab Alkali worked at the University of Maiduguri as a lecturer for twenty-two years. Thereafter, she moved to Nassarawa State University as a professor of English. She was married to Mohammed Nur Alkali who passed away in 2014.

Books

1. The Stillborn
2. The Virtuous Woman 
3. Cobwebs and other stories
4. The Descendants 
5. The initiates, etc.

Her first book, “The Stillborn” was published to international acclaim. While at home, she was met with harsh criticism. She was accused of being a radical feminist, inciting women to disobey their spouses.

Consequently, the label feminist restricted her from venturing into other social issues. As such, she set out to write “The Virtuous Woman” in the hopes of pandering to her audience. However, the book did quite the opposite. Critics from Southern Nigeria and abroad said she had mellowed down.

Met with these two extremes, Zaynab decided to write a short story collection titled “The Cobwebs and Other Stories”, after ten years. This book she tried to write from her heart. She paid no heed to external opinions. Her mantra while writing it was: No writer can truly write anything while paying attention to what people are expecting from them.

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Awards

Zaynab Alkali has won over 40 awards, some of which include:

1. Icon of hope (2000)
2. Nigerian Woman of Distinction (2010)
3. Association of Nigerian Authors(ANA) Literary Prize (1985)

Zaynab Alkali currently lives in Keffi, where she manages her school and farms. She is a great example of what can be achieved through hardwork, fearlessness and perseverance.