African Feminism: The Politics of Survival in Sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction

Introduction Gwendolyn Mikell The Crises of Gender and State Contemporary African women sometimes think of themselves as walkinga 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 own identities while transforming societal notions of gender and familial roles. Over the past two decades, states in sub-Saharan Africa have gone through many crises: the failure of male-dominated, multi-party politics or state socialism in the aftermath of independence; the onset of coups and establishment of military regimes; the economic instability that culminated in the collapse of national economies; the imposition of controversial, Western-mediated structural-adjustment programs; and,finally, the pressures to democratize governance processes so as to involve the "people." The colonially derived boundaries of African countries have been questioned , as have been the people's loyalty to the administrative and political structures that we call "the state." Perhaps most importantly, sub-Saharan African states feel pressured to restructure themselves under the guidance of more technologically advanced Western states and "global" powers rather than under their own independent means. They operate in a global environment that poses questions about what functions the African "state" performs for its citizens, what viability third-world states have in today's world, and whether there is a need for so many political units in contemporary Africa. 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 mortalityso well documented 2 Gwendolyn Mikell during the 1980s. Indeed, Western economists and political advisers have used the statistical evidence of African women's status as proof of the absence of "women in development," and as an indicator of the areas in which these societies need to change. African women know that African male politicians feel pressured to rewrite political agendas to encourage pluralism and to include in the public dialogue the interests and needs of women, the impoverished, and other diverse groups. But from the male politicians' perspectives, the pressure to "democratize" and open up public participation to women is externally derived and produces female responses that do not grow naturally out of indigenous African experiences and gender roles. Women, meanwhile, feel they are now challenged to verbalize and demonstrate their vision of women's roles for the future. Because the opportunity for their inclusion may not be presented so clearly again, African women have a growing determination to put forward their own sociopolitical agenda so that they do not "miss the boat" this time around. Some of the need to deal with the twin gender-political crises in Africa has resulted from social-structural problems that arose during the process of European colonization, as African political economies were tied as appendages to the West and African men were given increased recognition relative to women. The problems escalated after independence, particularly as shifts in the global economy during the 1970s sent shock waves through African economies and, one by one, many of these economies collapsed . In the 1980s, pressure from Western countries and international lending agencies forced African leaders to begin restructuring their economies and political systems, integrating women into development, and creating greater equity for women and families. This occurred, however, at a time when African nations were faced with decreasing economic resources with which to achieve these goals. Women's struggle for increased participation in shaping the African destiny is a sensitive issue because their leaders perceive it as externally generated and therefore respond in a "disemic" manner.1 In particular, educated African women who have maintained a dialogue with their Western female counterparts over the past two decades recognize the pressures toward Western forms of radicalism, but they bristle when their national leaders interpret their gender-reform efforts as responses to external manipulation . They hear politicians grumble that external pressure and support are forcing them to rephrase and verballypattern their goals according to Western economic, political, and gender models rather than on their own authentic cultural models. Thus African women find themselves carefully balancing these conflicting forces, trying to achieve greater public involvement for themselveswhile supporting...