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Winner of Women’s Writing Competition Announced

By Khalifa Hemed
Published September 10, 2018

Dr Halima Abdulkadir Dangambo, senior lecturer in Hausa Literature in the Department of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University, in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, sat on the judging panel.A story that highlights the plight of a girl in a traditional African setting has won its writer the 3rd BBC Hausa Short Story Writing Contest for Women.

The story, ’Ya Mace or ‘The Girl-Child’, is by Safiyya Jibril, a 29-year-old secondary school teacher studying for her Master’s degree in Soil Science at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, northern Nigeria.

The story highlights the ordeal of Halima, who going by family tradition, is expected to marry at about 14 years old. When she remains unmarried at 17, severe family and societal pressure forces her into marrying a man she barely knows. But the relationship ends in divorce when, shortly after the honeymoon, Halima becomes the subject of constant physical and verbal abuse.

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“Safiyya Jibril’s story was selected from a shortlist of 25 because from the beginning to the end, it takes the reader to a climax brimming with tension, suspense and conflict,” says Bilkisu Yusuf Ali, a member of the judging panel.

Sunanmu Daya or ‘Birds of a Feather’ by Sakina Lawal and Zaina (named after the main character) by Bilkisu Muhammad Abubakar, were also announced as first and second runners-up, respectively, while twelve other stories were highly
commended.

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Safiyya Jibril is a 29-year-old secondary school teacher studying for her Master’s degree in Soil Science at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, northern NigeriaIn its third year, the contest was introduced to give female writers a platform to tell and share their stories.

Jimeh Saleh, Editor of the BBC Hausa Service, says, “The competition has truly lived up to its billing of giving women a voice in a male-dominated society. The quality of entries has improved remarkably over the last two years and women are becoming more daring in the themes they tackle.”

Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye, Head of BBC West Africa says, “We are delighted about this year’s competition and the active participation of women in telling their stories to the world. This year’s winner courageously brings to fore a challenge many women face and it’s great that her work is getting the recognition it deserves.”

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The Judging Panel of the third BBC Hausa’s women’s writing competition comprised:

  • Professor Ibrahim Malumfashi, a prominent Hausa literary critic and senior lecturer in Hausa Literature at the Umaru Musa ’Yar’adua University, in the northern Nigerian city of Katsina
  • Dr Halima Abdulkadir Dangambo, a senior lecturer in Hausa Literature in the Department of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University, in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, and
  • Bilkisu Yusuf Ali, a veteran writer and literary critic.

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