Being an African and a Feminist.Share
Feminism has often been seen as a Western concept, but I believe in a feminism that is distinctly ‘African’ and that caters for the needs and desires of African women.African  feminism is important  to me not only because of the issue of my identity  , but because  it relates to  issues that affect me and my role in the feminist movement. There is no simple African feminism because of the complexities denoted by being an African and a feminist at the same time.Those who subscribe to feminism have a number of things in common. These are “a firm commitment to gender equality, a painful awareness that such equality is far from achieved, and a continuing  desire to work toward such equality.”As a movement, feminism has mobilized for reproductive rights, affordable health care and improved working conditions amongst many other causes . Hence, one can assume that African feminism  as paradigm and movement should therefore be  shaped by African contexts and experiences.In many Western literature African women are portrayed as “confused, powerless and unable to determine for themselves both the changes in their lives and the means to construct these changes.” Western feminists usually  act as superiors who seek to help and enlighten African women. This attitude  of Western women and feminists can often be observed in the work of non-governmental organizations  (NGOs), the academic field and even the political arena. Western feminists have dominated the discourse on feminism and women’s agenda, at the African woman’s expense. Like women everywhere, African women have problems but we are the only ones who can set our priorities and agenda. Anyone who wishes to participate in our struggles must do so in the context of our agenda. African feminism is therefore extremely necessary, if not vital, for the empowerment of African women.Read MoreComment (0)Hits: 26



                                          

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤