Gender Activism and Studies in Africa

Authors

Signe Arnfred
Babere Kerata Chacha
Amanda Gouws
Josephine Ahikire
Ayodele Ogundipe
Charmaine Pereira
Mansah Prah
Charles Ukeje
Felicia Arudo Yieke

Keywords:

Africa, Studies, Activism, Gender

Synopsis

Contributors

  • Signe Arnfred
  • Babere Kerata Chacha
  • Amanda Gouws
  • Josephine Ahikire
  • Ayodele Ogundipe
  • Charmaine Pereira
  • Mansah Prah
  • Charles Ukeje
  • Felicia Arudo Yieke

CODESRIA Gender Series Volume 3. Dakar, CODESRIA, 2004, 184 p., ISBN: 2-86978-140-7

This book celebrates the successes in African struggles for gender equality and draws attention to the challenges facing the edification of gender studies, women’s rights and entitlements. It brings together contributions by seasoned gender specialists who draw empirical evidence from several African countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa – to critically discuss various experiences in setting up gender and women’s studies programmes, feminist and gender activism, gender identities, social protest, gender and culture in indigenous films, continuities and discontinuities in conceptions of gender, same-sex relationships, customary law, and gendered discourse patterns. Readers will find great merit in the focus on challenges, achievements and future perspectives in the crystallisation of gender activism and studies in Africa.

The CODESRIA Gender Series acknowledges the need to challenge the masculinities underpinning the structures of repression that target women. The series aims to keep alive and nourish African social science research with insightful research and debates that challenge conventional wisdom, structures and ideologies that are narrowly informed by caricatures of gender realities. It strives to showcase the best in African gender research and provide a platform for the emergence of new talents to flower.

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Author Biographies

Signe Arnfred

is a sociologist, gender researcher and associate professor at the
Institute of Geography and Development Studies at Roskilde University, Denmark.
Since 2000 she has been attached to the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden,
as coordinator of a research programme on Sexuality, Gender and Society in
Africa.

Babere Kerata Chacha

is an assistant lecturer and a doctoral student in the
department of History at Egerton University Njoro, Kenya, he teaches agricultural
and environmental history as well as women history and sexuality. Previously he
had taught at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton and Kamagambo
Adventist College as an adjunct lecturer in history and development studies.

Amanda Gouws

is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Political
Science at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Her research deals
with women and citizenship. She is the Chair of the Women's Forum at the
University of Stellenbosch as well as the Chair of the Advisory Committee on
Sexual Harassment.

Josephine Ahikire

obtained an MA in Development Studies from the Institute
of Social Studies in The Hague, specialising in Women and Development. For
several years, Josephine has worked as a lecturer at Makerere University in the
Department of Women and Gender Studies. She is also a Senior Research Fellow
at the Centre for Basic Research. She

Ayodele Ogundipe

teaches at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. He is the current president
of the Nigerian Association of Anthropologists.

Charmaine Pereira

is an independent scholar based in Abuja, Nigeria. Her
research interests include feminism and women’s struggles, the state and civil
society, and sexual harassment in Nigerian universities. She has taught at universities in Britain and Nigeria, and is currently the National Co-ordinator of
the Network for Women’s Studies in Nigeria.

Mansah Prah

is Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social
Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Currently she is the Vice-Dean. Her
main experience is in teaching and research. Drawing on her experience in teaching
courses on Women in Development she has also been involved in policy-making.
She has published widely in refereed journals on gender violence and contributed
chapters in many books. Her research interests are on gender issues.

Charles Ukeje

is a Faculty member in the Department of International Relations
of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, where he has just completed
a doctoral dissertation on ‘Oil Capital, Ethnic Nationalism and Civil Conflicts in
the Niger Delta of Nigeria’.

Felicia Arudo Yieke

has a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of
Vienna. She currently teaches at Egerton University in Kenya. Her areas of
specialisation include Discourse Analysis and Sociolinguistics, especially in the
field of Gender analysis and language. She has published considerably in applied
linguistics and other areas.

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Published

July 23, 2004