African women sometimes consider themselves walking in a political/gender tightrope. On one hand, they are concerned about the sea of economic and political troubles facing their communities and their national “ships of state.”On the other hand, they are grappling with how to affirm their identities while transforming societal notions of gender and familial roles. African women know that they have borne the brunt of the crises of their states over the past two decades. The evidence is apparent in the lower educational levels for women across the continent.The continuing presence of women in agricultural and other rural activities (rather than in the professions and other income-producing activities), and in the higher levels of female malnutrition and maternal and infant mortality African feminism owes its origins to different dynamics those that generated Western feminism. It has largely been shaped by African women’s resistance to Western hegemony and its legacy within African culture. The most hopeful sign is that African women have become more vocal about their social, personal, economic, and political challenges and about their newly emerging vision of African feminism. The result is that African women are now engaged into many activities such as automotive,mechanical, electrical engineering and all kinds of work that a man can do.
Please send your abstract to Anoruo Rejoice Chukwunyeremugwu at rejoice.orisakwe@gmail.com by March 14th.
