Esittelyssä Hope Nwosun kirja: SoldOut

Hope Nwosus book, SoldOut, as a tool to discuss gender (in)equality in both Finnish and Nigerian context
‘SoldOut’ (Rosetta Versos 2024) is a novel based on a true-life story of victims of human trafficking.
The book tells the story of Chioma, a young Nigerian girl who accepts an offer to travel to Europe for a chance of a better life for herself and her family.
Prior to her journey, Chioma is forced to live at her maternal village with her mother and seven sisters to pave the way for her father to marry another woman who will birth a son for him.
On arrival to Libya en route Europe, Chioma learns that there would be no nanny job waiting for her in Italy contrary to William’s promise. She would be left with no choice than to submit her body in exchange for dinars if she wanted to reach Europe.
On arriving Italy, Chioma surprisingly met a few other young girls. It became crystal clear that she must sell her body for a living.
As years of feeling like a mere object in the hands of her customers began to have a toll on Chioma’s mental health and self-esteem, she is determined to pick the broken pieces of herself and aim towards achieving her dreams. She packs a few of her belongings and heads to Finland, a country she heard about from one of her customers.
Relation to reality:
As much as the story of Chioma might sound like a fairy-tale, the book SoldOut is sadly a lived experience of many young women from the global south. The need to escape poverty has led many to an early grave. Travellers going by sea in tiny rubber boats are in danger of drowning. In 2023, thousands of migrants were reported to have lost their lives on the Mediterranean route.
Gender inequality
The state of women and girls in many developing countries remains weak. Preference of male children over females is still a reality in many societies, including Nigeria. In Igbo culture, a woman who hasn’t birthed a son is still regarded as incomplete. She is often blamed for not having a male child.
These cultural practices influence a young girl to seek validation in various ways.
Motivation and writing process
The major motivation for writing SoldOut is to give a voice to the voiceless African women whose stories are left untold. I am also motivated by the need bring to public discus the intersectional role played by gender, race, social status, in limiting African women from actualizing their dreams.
During the writing process, I met a few Nigerian women who all had similar stories to tell.
Themes in the novel and their relationship to my speech
Gender equality:
The characters in the novel find themselves in a patriarchal society where they are expected to fit into certain role dictated by societal norms.
Gender inequality influences the lives of women and girls negatively and it’s impact is generational.
Human trafficking
Chioma and other young girls are tricked into travelling to Europe for a better life for themselves and their family. On arriving to Europe, the girls must remit a huge some of money to compensate for their travel expenses. Failure to honour the agreement has a dire consequence for the girl and their family back home.
Women empowerment:
An educated woman is an empowered individual. In the book, Chioma is determined to rise again despite painful experiences she passed through. She is determined to begin a new life in another country, hence her decision to move to Finland.
Summary
SoldOut is a novel that challenges the readers’ perspective on victims of human trafficking and gender inequality.
Do you want to read more about SoldOut?
Get a copy of the book here: https://kirjasin.fi/tuote/soldout/
Invite me to speak about the themes in the book at your events.
Learn more about Hope and her keynote speaker profile from here