OUR IDENTITY AS AFRICAN FEMINISTS
As Feminists who come from/work/live in Africa, we claim the right and the space
to be Feminist and African. We recognize that we do not have a homogenous
identity as feminists - we acknowledge and celebrate our diversities and our shared
commitment to a transformatory agenda for African societies and African women in
particular. This is what gives us our common feminist identity. Our current struggles
as African Feminists are inextricably linked to our past as a continent – diverse
pre-colonial contexts, slavery, colonization, liberation struggles, neo-colonialism,
globalization, etc. Modern African States were built off the backs of African
Feminists who fought alongside men for the liberation of the continent. As we craft
new African States in this new millennium, we also craft new identities for African
women, identities as full citizens, free from patriarchal oppression, with rights
of access, ownership and control over resources and our own bodies. We also
recognize that our pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial histories require special
measures to be taken in favour of particular African women in different contexts.
We acknowledge the historical and significant gains that have been made by the
African Women’s Movement over the past forty years, and we make bold to lay claim
to these gains as African Feminists – they happened because African Feminists led
the way, from the grassroots level and up; they strategised, organized, networked,
went on strike and marched in protest, and did the research, analysis, lobbying,
institution building and all that it took for States, employers and institutions to
acknowledge women’s personhood.
As African Feminists, we are also part of a global feminist movement against
patriarchal oppression in all its manifestations. Our experiences are linked to that
of women in other parts of the world with whom we have shared solidarity and
support over the years. As we assert our space as African Feminists, we also draw
inspiration from our feminist ancestors who blazed the trail and made it possible
to affirm the rights of African women. As we invoke the memory of those women
whose names are hardly ever recorded in any History books, we insist that it is
a profound insult to claim that feminism was imported into Africa from the West.
We reclaim and assert the long and rich tradition of African women’s resistance to
patriarchy in Africa. We henceforth claim the right to theorize for ourselves, write
for ourselves, strategise for ourselves and speak for ourselves as African Feminists.
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