In chapter 2 of Buchi Emecheta's novel Second Class Citizen, we learn that Adah, a young Ibo woman, is quite progressive, headstrong, and independent within the parameters established by her tribe.

Adah does not conform to all the stipulations placed upon the women of her tribe, which include arranged marriages at a very young age and favoring males over females in terms of independence and academic opportunities.

Adah hears a voice within, the Presence, telling her that she can aspire to much a better future, where she can go to school and have the life that she wants. However, during a particular day, her thoughts make her smile during class while her Headmaster is speaking. Thinking that she is mocking him, the Headmaster confronts Adah and gets argumentative with her. However, Adah is no shy violet and does not stay quiet when the Headmaster accuses her of being disrespectful.

The result is that some students come and hold down Adah so that the Headmaster can physically punish her, as is customary. The pain of the punishment is enough for Adah to react, and the way she reacts is by biting one of the students who is holding her as hard as she can.

Even after the caning punishment is over, Adah does not let go of the student:

The boy wriggled in agony .... All the teachers came to the rescue. Adah's teeth had dug so deep into him that fragments of his flesh were stuck between her teeth. She quickly spat them out and wiped her mouth, looking at them all wide-eyed.

This is where she earns the moniker "The Ibo Tigress," after the wild biting incident.