Women in Africa

A Congolese woman asserts women's rights with the message 'The mother is as important as the father' printed on her pagne, 2015.
A Congolese woman asserts women's rights with the message 'The mother is as important as the father' printed on her pagne, 2015.

The culture, evolution, and history of women who were born in, live in, and are from the continent of Africa reflect the evolution and history of the African continent itself.

Numerous short studies regarding women's history in African nations have been conducted.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Many studies focus on the historic roles and status of women in specific countries and regions, such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria[7] Lesotho,[8] and sub-Saharan Africa.[9][10] Recently, scholars have begun to focus on the evolution of women's status throughout the history of Africa using less common sources, such as songs from Malawi, weaving techniques in Sokoto, and historical linguistics.[11]

The status of women in Africa is varied across nations and regions. For example, Rwanda is the only country in the world where women hold more than half the seats in parliament — 51.9% as of July 2019,[12][13] but Morocco only has one female minister in its cabinet.[13] Significant efforts towards gender equality have been made through the creation of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, which encourages member states to end discrimination and violence against women.[14] With the exception of Morocco and Burundi, all African states have adopted this charter.[15] However, despite these strides towards equality, women still face various issues related to gender inequality, such as disproportionate levels of poverty and education, poor health and nutrition, lack of political power, limited workforce participation, gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, and child marriage.[16][17][18]

  1. ^ For a brief guide to the historiography see HIST 4310, Twentieth Century African Women's History by J. M. Chadya
  2. ^ Hunt, Nancy Rose (October 1989). "Placing African women's history and locating gender". Social History. 14 (3): 359–379. doi:10.1080/03071028908567748.
  3. ^ Hetherington, Penelope (1993). "Women in South Africa: The Historiography in English". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 26 (2): 241–269. doi:10.2307/219546. JSTOR 219546.
  4. ^ Kathleen Sheldon, Historical dictionary of women in Sub-Saharan Africa (Scarecrow press, 2005).[page needed]
  5. ^ Hay, Margaret Jean (10 March 2014). "Queens, Prostitutes and Peasants: Historical Perspectives on African Women, 1971–1986". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 22 (3): 431–447. doi:10.1080/00083968.1988.10804220. hdl:2144/41085. S2CID 142756533.
  6. ^ Hunt, Nancy Rose; Liu, Tessie P.; Quataert, Jean (1997). Gendered Colonialisms in African History. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-631-20476-3.[page needed]
  7. ^ Bolanle Awe, Nigerian women in historical perspective (IbDn: Sankore, 1992).[page needed]
  8. ^ Eldredge, Elizabeth A. (1991). "Women in Production: The Economic Role of Women in Nineteenth-Century Lesotho". Signs. 16 (4): 707–731. doi:10.1086/494700. JSTOR 3174570. S2CID 145155005.
  9. ^ Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch, African Women: A Modern History (1997).[page needed]
  10. ^ M.J. Hay and Sharon Stitcher, Women in Africa South Of the Sahara (1995).[page needed]
  11. ^ Sheldon, Kathleen (1999). "Women's History: Africa". In Boyd, Kelly (ed.). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, vol 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 1308–11. ISBN 9781884964336.
  12. ^ Mizrahi, Simon (May 2015). Empowering African Women: An Agenda for Action (PDF). Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire: African Development Bank. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  13. ^ a b Musau, Zipporah (8 April 2019). "African Women in politics: Miles to go before parity is achieved". Africa Renewal. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  14. ^ Kimani, Mary (2007). "Taking on violence against women in Africa". Africa Renewal. 21 (2): 4–7. doi:10.18356/3a3ce9eb-en.
  15. ^ "African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights". African Commission on Human and People's Rights. African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.
  16. ^ Solidarity for African Women's Rights (2006). Breathing Life into the African Union Protocol on Women's Rights in Africa. Solidarity for African Women's Rights.
  17. ^ Mlambo-Ngcuka, Phumzile (29 January 2017). "Speech: "We have opportunities as much as we have challenges"". UN Women: Africa. UN Women. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  18. ^ Mutume, Gumisai (15 July 2005). "African women battle for equality". Africa Renewal. UN African Renewal. Retrieved 23 October 2019.