The irony of Safiya’s rebelliousness
One thing that Safiya's father does not expect to happen in his lifetime is seeing his daughters embracing Babylonian ways of life, which include wearing short dresses, doing make-up and challenging men. Safiya's father raises his daughters by observing the Rastafarian culture strictly. Ironically, despite her father's oppressive patriarchal rule, Safiya learns about her rights as a woman and starts challenging her father and other men who mistreat women and force them to do things against their wishes. Consequently, Safiya's rebelliousness is an attribute her father never expected to witness in his lifetime.
The irony of Safiya’s mother
Safiya's mother is a loyal wife to her patriarchal man, and she promises to raise her daughters based on the Rastafarian culture. Ironically, Safiya's mother secretly gives her female children books and other poetic materials to empower them to develop a voice that will enable them to challenge the patriarchal system in Jamaica. Safiya's father does not know that his wife is secretly betraying him because he hates the Western culture where women demand equal rights.
The irony of not wearing pants
There is an irony when Jamaican men order women not to wear pants for them to be pure. Instead, men direct women to wear long dresses and wraps to cover their hair. The correlation between wearing pants and impurity needs to be clearly defined by Jamaican men. Since women undergo natural biological processes such as menstruation, it is illogical to tell a woman not to wear a pant because that makes her pure throughout her life.
