Trauma and Resilience in Buchi Emecheta’s The Slave Girl

Ojebeta exhibits incredible fortitude in the face of immense adversity by relying on her cultural background, her connections with other enslaved women, and her inner strength to resist and endure. Slave women were particularly vulnerable inside the enslavement system. They endured the same physical brutality and ruthless labour as men, but they also had to live with the continual fear of sexual abuse and exploitation. Women, who were frequently in charge of preserving kinship networks and passing down customs amid the chaos of forced migration and separation, were further burdened by the breakdown of family structures and cultural links. This particular form of oppression has severe psychological repercussions, including internalised sentiments of helplessness, shame, and the difficult task of re-establishing identity following independence.