Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist
Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions ” by
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been
named one of three winners of Le
Grand Prix de l ’ héroïne Madame
Figaro.
The prize was established in 2006 by
the French magazine Madame Figaro
to celebrate heroines of French and
foreign literature. Each year the
shortlisted works are selected by the
magazine ’s editor .
A team of judges , chaired by
influential journalist Patrick Poivre
d’Arvor, selected one French novel ,
one foreign novel in translation , and
one nonfiction work. “ Chère Ijeawele,
ou un manifeste pour une éducation
féministe ,” the French translation of
‘Dear Ijeawele,’ was selected as the
winner in the latter category .
Along with Adichie, Alex Stresi was
awarded the prize in the French novel
category for ‘Lopping ’ and Lauren
Groff received the foreign novel prize
for ‘Les Furies .’
Adichie’s French publisher, Marie -
Pierre Gracedieu of Gallimard,
commented : “ When I read Dear
Ijeawele, I felt an urge to share it with
many friends , women and men, who
had become parents of a girl in the
recent years. Then I started to feel it
had to be read by parents of boys too .
And thereafter by everyone of us to
investigate our own education , and try
to overcome a few inherited clichés .
“ Therefore to publish it at Gallimard
has meant a lot to me, and it is a very
rewarding experience to see it
awarded the Grand Prix de l ’Héroïne
by Madame Figaro, a prize that
celebrates the power of literature and
of characters as role models .
“ The fact that such an established and
popular weekly has understood the
importance of spreading the content of
this letter - manifesto , even in the
Western world, and especially in the
political context we are now , brings
me joy and hope .”
This was the 12 th edition of the prize.
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