Abstract

Critiques of Halima Amali's Faces of Shame construe the collection principally as a form of protest poetry directed at the Nigerian political class. This interpretation, while instructive, is not sufficient. This study contend that the collection’s protest remains incomplete if the gendered configuration of the moral authority from which it is articulated is not taken into consideration. Amali’s protest through her female satirical voice, which is situated at the centre of the argument, is configured through the Islamic moral order. The researchers employ Molara Ogundipe-Leslie's Stiwanism and, through a close reading, attend to the collection’s use of the tensions within the Islamic moral framework to position feminine outrage within a theological domain, as well as the collection’s use of the tension between communal solidarity and individual witness. The researchers establish that Faces of Shame is a collection that extends beyond a protest against corruption in Nigeria. It is a collection in which a female voice, situated at the intersection of faith (Islam), gender (the feminine), and action (civic), asserts this voice as her moral authority and deserves to be recognised.

Keywords: Halima Amali, Faces of Shame, Stiwanism, female moral authority, a satirical voice, Nigerian women's poetry, Islam and gender

How to cite

Godday Eronmonsele Ehimen (2026). THE GENDERED FURY: FEMALE MORAL AUTHORITY AND SATIRICAL VOICE IN HALIMA AMALI'S FACES OF SHAME. NATELCEP Journal of Languages and Communication Studies (NJLCS), 19(1), 9–17. https://www.natelcep.org/journal/articles/6aa86912827155af40682d21