How African Feminism Changed the World
'Feminism' has often been seen as a Western concept, but African women are increasingly redefining it to suit their own purposes. This, in turn, is influencing the rest of the world.
Today, on International Women’s Day 2013, one is likely to hear a raft of statistics that both celebrate and lament the status of women. While some indicators of gender equality have improved, others continue to shock and disappoint. And drawing firm conclusions using these different, discrete areas can often prove a troublesome task. How, for example, should news that South African women hold 40% of the country’s parliamentary seats be balanced against reports that in Gauteng province 1 in 4 have been raped? However, in this context, the more significant contributions that African women’s movements have made globally often go unnoticed. Far from following a trajectory that seeks to ‘catch up’ with Western feminism, several African countries and social groups have forged their own conceptions of equality and provided models for the rest of the world to follow.
Trajectories of change
Women’s movements in Africa have come a long way over the past half century or so. In the first three decades after independence, women’s organisations were often tied to the patronage politics of the single-party state and tended to focus on welfare, domestic and developmental concerns whilst avoiding political engagement. At the grassroots level, women’s groups produced handicrafts, promoted literacy, farmed, engaged in income-generating projects, and engaged in cultural activities.
This began to change in the 1990s as women’s movements were increasingly influenced by international women’s rights agendas as well as by the United Nations, African Union, Southern African Development Community and other sub-regional organisations. The 1985 UN Conference on Women held in Nairobi and especially the 1995 UN Conference on Women in Beijing served as catalysts for many organisations and activists.
Today, on International Women’s Day 2013, one is likely to hear a raft of statistics that both celebrate and lament the status of women. While some indicators of gender equality have improved, others continue to shock and disappoint. And drawing firm conclusions using these different, discrete areas can often prove a troublesome task. How, for example, should news that South African women hold 40% of the country’s parliamentary seats be balanced against reports that in Gauteng province 1 in 4 have been raped? However, in this context, the more significant contributions that African women’s movements have made globally often go unnoticed. Far from following a trajectory that seeks to ‘catch up’ with Western feminism, several African countries and social groups have forged their own conceptions of equality and provided models for the rest of the world to follow.
Trajectories of change
Women’s movements in Africa have come a long way over the past half century or so. In the first three decades after independence, women’s organisations were often tied to the patronage politics of the single-party state and tended to focus on welfare, domestic and developmental concerns whilst avoiding political engagement. At the grassroots level, women’s groups produced handicrafts, promoted literacy, farmed, engaged in income-generating projects, and engaged in cultural activities.
This began to change in the 1990s as women’s movements were increasingly influenced by international women’s rights agendas as well as by the United Nations, African Union, Southern African Development Community and other sub-regional organisations. The 1985 UN Conference on Women held in Nairobi and especially the 1995 UN Conference on Women in Beijing served as catalysts for many organisations and activists.