The 'Other Room' Metaphor as A Linguistic Marker of Sexism and Gender-Based Violence

Abstract

This paper examines the metaphorical entailments of ‘other room’ remark of former President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) using the theoretical insights of Conceptual Metaphor Theory in examining the data elicited from different speeches of Mrs. Aisha Buhari and PMB. The findings show metaphor as a dominant trope that offers a window for social labeling practices and construction of gendered identities and identifiable sexist connotations. From the perspective of overt sexism, it becomes clear that ‘kitchen’, ‘living-room’ and ‘other room’ instantiate gendered metaphorical expressions, which actually represent intimate partner violence as an aspect of gender-based violence that relegate women in our typical patriarchal society. Given the deleterious implications of sexism and gender-based violence for all-inclusive human development and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, there should be a rethink in the domains of language use and patriarchal ideology in a manner that would narrow gender gap and bolster African feminism, which ai an advocacy for women’s rights over their lives, bodies, and decisions.