Abstract

This essay discusses the portrayal of the bible as a weapon of oppression against women in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross (1982). Adopting the feminist critical approach, the essay focuses on how women are portrayed as oppressed and marginalized in the patriarchal Kenyan society. In the novel, the author decries a situation where subjective interpretation of the bible is carried out by men to create and sustain inferiority complex in women for the preservation of narrow patriarchal interests. The interest in the topic is informed by the paucity of critical studies on that perspective of the story. The outcome indicates that Ngugi Wa Thiong’o uses the story to draw the attention of the world to the marginalization and oppression of Kenyan women perpetrated through religious brainwashing. The story is also meant to inspire action in women to wake up and struggle for social equality. In this respect, Devil on the Cross is an affirmative empowerment of women.

Keywords: Weaponization, Feminism bible, Christianity, Patriarchal society, Oppression, Liberation