Novels in English by northern Nigerian writers are few, so the arrival of a new one is an exciting literary event. This dramatic story of the efforts of the heroine and her friends to bring about change in the social conditions of women in Nigeria addresses pressing political issues which rarely appear in fiction-the legal status of Muslim women, the limitations imposed on them by traditional and religious conventions, the restrictions on their economic activities, the effects of a corrupt patriarchal system on the society at large and women in particular, the humiliations visited on women as a result of unquestioned male power in personal relationships-from a woman's point of view. Ingeniously conceived and deftly written, this is a story about the emancipation of women in Nigeria from within. Not simply a social document, it engages the reader's sympathy through its portrayal of the attractive and believable woman after whom it is titled-Amina. Amina is a timely novel, and the execution of the narrative is so convincingly crafted that parallels with the historical legendary life of the 16th century Hausa ruler and famous warrior Queen Amina of Zazzau seem unavoidable. The novel leaves you feeling that there is hope for change in Nigeria.
