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African feminism specifically addresses the condition that the black woman in Africa lives in . It should however be noted that Africa is not a monolithic continent . As such , African feminism does not reflect on all the experiences that the African woman have , with each region having its own specific experiences . were either wives , daughters or mothers . In public , their participation in various activities were limited and controlled by men .
THE SILENT WITNESS

Why We Should All Be Feminists

By Dr . Johansen Oduor
Definition Of Feminism
What is feminism and who is a feminist . Is it a woman , or is it a man , what are the intentions of this person identified by the society as a feminist ?
Feminism can be looked at from the angle of patriarchy whereby the power relations between men and women makes the women ’ s interest subordinate to the interest of men . This comes in many forms including division of labour , leadership structures and the norms in which we live as a society amongst others .
Although the word feminism came into being in the year 1890 , women have been struggling to gain recognition in the patriarchal society for many years .
Feminism is a movement whose sole purpose is ensuring gender equality . A movement which ensures that women are not oppressed and denied opportunities . It ’ s not about women only . Men too can join and have indeed joined the movement in the past .
Origin Of Feminism
As far as the 4th century BC , Aristotle ( 384-322 BC ) declared that women were women by virtue of lack of certain qualities , a sentiment which was shared by his predecessor , an army general called Thucydides ( c . 460-400BC ).
The difference between men and women were based on essentialist ideas about gender , based on the biological differences , with male characteristics described by traits including aggressiveness , rationality and assertiveness while women were seen as being intuitive , sensitive and gentle .
Men were meant to be able to think logically , abstractly and analytically while women were seen as emotional , compassionate and nurturing creatures .
This difference was important for it was believed that to maintain the natural order , there should be a clear distinction between the male and female gender . The result was a serious impact on the lives of women , both in private and in public . In private , they

African feminism specifically addresses the condition that the black woman in Africa lives in . It should however be noted that Africa is not a monolithic continent . As such , African feminism does not reflect on all the experiences that the African woman have , with each region having its own specific experiences . were either wives , daughters or mothers . In public , their participation in various activities were limited and controlled by men .
In England , Women had no formal rights and even if some could receive higher education , they were not allowed to receive a degree for which they had studied . In marriage , a woman ’ s body belonged to her husband , who was the only legal guardian to their children . Furthermore , a woman was counted to be among a man ’ s properties which included his house , his furniture ’ s , his land etc .
Things started to change with feminist activities gaining momentum and these were aimed at challenging the prevalent social view that women were weak and irrational creatures who had to be controlled by men . One of the major changes that was seen was the ascent of Queen Elizabeth 1 to the throne in England in the year 1558 .
In the following years women started participating in many spheres of life . Some like Jane Anger became authors who mainly concentrated on issues challenging the idea of the female as chaste , silent and obedient . In 1679 , Rachel Speght ’ s A muzzle for Melastomus ( 1617 ) questioned the story of Adam ’ s fall from the Garden of Eden ( because of a woman called Eve ). The role of women in participating in independent churches where they were allowed to debate , vote and even prophesy also began as far back as 1640s .
In 1642 , women in England matched to the house of the Lords and Commons demanding that the law take into account their status of working individuals and to improve the conditions of the working
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