The practice of female genital mutilation is part of the story. Onyesonwu undergoes FGM and her powers are severely impaired. Steven Barnes, an African-American science fiction writer, criticized this element in the book. In a review for American Book Review, he said Okorafor made traditional African culture look bad and should have used her book to celebrate the good aspects of the culture. Okorafor responded:
“Culture is alive and it is fluid. It is not made of stone nor is it absolute. Just because I believe that aspects of my culture are problematic does not mean I am ‘betraying’ my people by pointing out those problems.”
July 24th, 2017 at 10:24AM
“he said Okorafor made traditional African culture look bad and should have used her book to celebrate the good aspects of the culture.”
Similarly, any American Southern writers in 1850 should have eschewed writing about slavery and focused on the good aspects of the culture. And German writers in the early 1930s should have focused on the good aspects of the culture, and avoided any mention of Brownshirt atrocities.
This whole idea that ‘culture’ is a get-out-of-jail card is doing immense harm, and it’s good that she refused to be intimidated by it.
July 24th, 2017 at 10:27AM
FGM asylum in Europe:
http://www.fmreview.org/sites/fmr/files/FMRdownloads/en/climatechange-disasters/FGM.pdf