This essay will consist of a brief background to both the story and the authors and I will compare and contrast Indian and Nigerian culture and tradition, looking particularly at the role and to the duty of women within the family and community. The short story "A Smell of Kerosene" tells the story of a young woman named Gulleri, who lives with her husband Manak and his family. Gulleri is unable to bear a child and therefore is unable to produce a son, which is why Manak's mother makes him marry another woman while Gulleri is at the annual harvest fair in his hometown of Chamba. When Gulleri learns about Manak's new wife, he dips his clothes in kerosene and sets himself on fire. Author of, A Smell of Kerosene, Amrita Pritam, an Indian citizen in 1947, was famously known for writing about personal experiences and events that happened in India, so it is quite possible that she would have been an eyewitness to horrific scenes like that Gulleri story, so it is entirely appropriate that I should write such a story. Veronica's story is also about a young woman who lives with her family in a small village in Nigeria and her friend Okeke who leaves Nigeria to study in England. Ten years later he returns to find that Veronica is married, with a child and living in severe poverty. Okeke left Nigeria and returned three years later after the destruction of the civil war, where he met Veronica for the last time, Veronica died in Okeke's arms. The author Adewale Maja-Pearce was a citizen of Nigeria; in fact his personal life is very much reflected in this story as he grew up in Lagos and attended universities in England. The saying "Women's place is in the kitchen", comes to mind when I read... half of the paper ......for Guleri's death and that's why she can't bear to hold the baby and why metaphorically the child smells of kerosene. In every culture there are differences and similarities between them. The two young women come from poverty-stricken rural communities, one Indian and the other African, the culture and traditions of both countries have shaped the expectations of male and female roles that dominate women in these countries. I found these stories extremely interesting to read, especially because I hear stories like these on the news. I find it incredible that even though these stories were written many years ago, they still reflect the lives of many women in India and Africa. The fact that these traditions and cultural ways have not changed demonstrates a lack of external influences and how much the people of Africa and India respect these traditions.