Understanding African Feminism: The Contributions of Molara Ogundipe-Leslie

Asikia Karibi-Whyte1
Abstract
Feminism is broadly defined as the struggle for liberation of women and this entails
epistemologies, methodologies, theories and manner of activism that seeks to bring an end
to women’s oppression and subordination. Feminism is often associated with the western
world and this has been contested by women of African descent. It was Filomena Chioma
Steady that first gave a definition of what African feminism is, her treatise gave rise to other
African women scholars such Oyeronke Oyewumi, Mojubaolu Okome, Nnaemeka Obioma,
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi. However, it was Ogundipe-Leslie that explained what African feminism
is all about as not only a distinct school of feminism and also coined another word
‘Stiwanism’ in place of feminism. This paper will therefore chronicle the distinct
contributions of Ogundipe-Leslie to the understanding of African Feminism.

1
Department of Jurisprudence & International Law, Faculty of Law University of Lagos Akoka Lagos Nigeria
rige@unilag.edu.ng/asikiaige@gmail.com

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1.0 Introduction

Feminism is often viewed as a western concept that diffused to other parts of the world;

very many definitions of feminism mirror the experience of women in the western

hemisphere (the political North). For example, Frye defines feminism as:

‘The world view, the philosophy that rests on an empirical base, staking your life on the
trustworthiness of your own body as a source of knowledge. It rests equally on inter-
subjective agreement, since some kind of agreement in perceptions and experience among
women is what gives us our sense of data, our body data and the compelling agency which
made it possible to trust them’.2

Milns and Whitty also define feminism as characterised by a focus on gender as a central
organising principle of social life; an emphasis on the concept of power and the way it
affects social relations; an unwavering commitment to progressive change. Feminism
approaches generally reject universalistic claim or account of the abstracted self. 3

The two definitions by Frye, Milns and Whitty are derive from the lived experiences and

understanding of the society in which they live. These two definitions depart from the

understanding of women of African descent because in African society the human body is

not a source of knowledge.

The thrust of this paper is to examine what African feminism is and more importantly to

depict the contributions of Molara Ogundipe-Leslie in understanding what African feminism

stands for; thus part 1 will chronicle the evolution of African feminism; part 2 will discuss

what African feminism is; part 3 will depict the contributions of Ogundipe-Leslie in bringing

a better understanding of what African feminism is all about and a succinct conclusion

follows.

2
M Frye, ‘The Possibility of Feminist Theory’ in Alison Jaggar and Paula Rothenberg (eds) Feminist Frameworks
Third Edition (London: McGraw Hill Inc 1993) pp.105-106
3
Susan Milns and Noel Whitty (eds) Feminist Perspectives on Public Law (London: Cavendish Publishing
Limited 1999) p.1

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2.0 Evolution of African Feminism

The concept of African feminism has generated a lot of debates and it is still generating

debates especially as to its origin/evolution. Some scholars believe feminism is alien to

Africa and it is a weed that has infiltrated the continent from outside; the implication being

that African feminism is not indigenous to Africa and that it threatens to choke or over run

‘true’ African values.4 Some other scholars such as Adeleye-Fayemi have argued in support

of feminism not being alien to Africa. While the evolution of feminism in Africa cannot be

dated because most African countries were not literate before the advent of colonialism,

yet it cannot be said that feminism is alien to Africa. In examining the origin/evolution of

African feminism, it will be discussed from two standpoints namely: Anti-Essentialism and

Culture, Tradition and History.

2.1 Anti-Essentialism

The arguments that something or someone is not African, which is referred to as African

authenticity emanates from Maria Baaz, it is based on the notion of socio-historical claim

about Africa, it refers to African essence, African cultures and traditions and to the various

cultural practices that have historically prevailed on the continent.5 To lump African cultures

together as one can be misleading because Africa is large and culturally diverse made up of

different peoples, cultures and practices.

4
S Dosekun, ‘Defending Feminism in Africa’ post amble 3 (1) 2007 p.41
5
M Baaz, ‘’Introduction: African Identity and the Postcolonial’ in Maria Baz and M Palmberg (eds) same and
other: Negotiating African Identity in Cultural Production (Sweden: Nordiskaa Africa Institute 2001) p.8

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2.2 Culture, Tradition and History

The claim that feminism is un-African refers to ‘tradition’ and ‘culture’; the proponents of

this view will have us believe that African culture and traditions are static and immutable,

this position is far from being correct because ‘culture as we know is a product of history’

which is subject to change and contestation and often responds to social dynamics. As

Adeleye-Fayemi argues: Africa has the oldest civilization in the world, it has the oldest

patriarchies and therefore the oldest resistance to patriarchy. To believe otherwise is to

‘falsely imply that for centuries African women have crossed their arms and have accepted

being battered and depersonalised by patriarchy.6

The origin of African feminism can be explained in a number of ways, first, it is seen as an

offshoot of African societies. The oral traditions of many societies in Africa characterise

many women as initiators and practitioners of verbal arts, successful practitioners in

business and also inventors of food technology. It is also well documented that women

dominated the economic, social and political spheres of life in many African countries.

According to Oluwole, African women were economically disempowered and politically

disenfranchised during the colonial era, even though they may not have enjoyed equality

with men in many traditional societies.7 Synder and Tadesse also chronicle the presence of

African women in governance in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.8

Second, African feminism is also necessarily shaped by African women’s resistance to

western hegemony. Mikell argues that, ‘the emergence of African feminism is distinctly

6
B Adeleye-Fayemi, ‘Creating and Sustaining Feminist Space in Africa: Local and Global Challenges in the 21 st
Century’ in Luciana Ricciutelli et al Feminist Politics, Activism and Vision (London: Zed Books 2005) p.88
7
S Oluwole, ‘Africa’ in Alison Jaggar and Iris Young (eds) Companion to Feminist Philosophy: Blackwell
Companion to Philosophy (London: Blackwell Publishing Limited 2005) p.105
8
Margaret Synder and Mary Tadesse, African Women and Development: A History (London: Zed Books 1995)
p.21

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heterosexual, pro-natal and concerned with bread and butter, culture and power issues; to

this end, it parallels the recent growth of feminism in many western countries. The newly

emerging African feminism is a direct outcome of women’s response to political leaders who

have attempted to partially manage crisis by further limiting and exploiting women.9

Mikell’s account of the origin of African feminism raises a number of issues, first, African

women had no form of agency before the advent of colonialism; second, it is the

introduction of the modern state that afford African women the opportunity to organise

against subjugation and oppression in the society. This perspective to African feminism does

a great disservice to African women in the areas of intellectual acumen and social

responsiveness to women’s oppression and subjugation.

African feminism can also be explained through the contexualisation which emerged in the

1990s in response to its exclusion from second wave feminism but not limited to it; if the

1980s was the decade of women of colour feminisms, the 1990s constituted the decade of

African feminism; just as the women of colour movement in the United States compelled

western feminism thinking and theorising to liberate itself from the myopia of gender

specificity to broaden and intensify its content and texture by allowing other categories of

race and class to intersect with gender. African feminism made further demands on

feminism to expand its horizon by incorporating other considerations such as culture,

colonialism, ethnicity and imperialism and in particular examining the ways these

considerations intersect to construct and (re)produce gender.10

9
G Mikell, African Feminism: The Politics of Survival in sub-Sahara (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
1997) p.4
10
https://encyclopaedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/5940/African-Feminism.html accessed 27 July 2016

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While there have been different accounts of evolution of African feminism. However, a

common theme is the existence of African feminism which in my view shows that African

women are aware of the limitations within their environment. It is therefore a theory which

consists of ideas and practical application of gendered consciousness to concepts and

situations that impact the lives of African women. African feminism rests on the pivot of

African philosophy of life which emphasises the humanity of man (in the generic sense),

engages with patriarchy that dehumanises women and portray her as a second class citizen;

it is rooted within Africa’s cultural and historical experiences which advance the

complementarity of the male and female gender.

3.0 African Feminism: What it is

African feminism is a movement of ideas and practical demonstration of gendered

consciousness to concepts and situations that impacts the lives of African women. African

feminism stands on the pivot of African philosophy of life with its emphasis on marriage as a

social institution. It engages with patriarchy that dehumanises women and portray her as a

second class citizen. African is also rooted in African cultural and historical experiences

which advances the complementarity between men and women.

What then is African feminism? According to Steady, African feminism is a theory which

combines racial, sexual, class and cultural dimension of oppression to produce a more

inclusive brand of feminism through which women are viewed first and foremost as human

rather than as sexual beings.11

11
F Steady, ‘African Feminism: A Worldwide Perspective’ in Rosalyn Terborg-Penn and Andrea Benton-Rushing
(eds) Women in Africa and the Africa Diaspora : A Reader Second Edition (Washington DC: Howard University
Press 1996) p.4

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Kitossa defines African feminism as a framework that presents a critical interpretative frame

through which to reconstruct the presence of African women in history and as such it offers

a conceptual framework through which to criticise white hegemonic feminism. 12

Steady’s definition depicts the holistic approach of African feminism to women issues.

African women see women subjugation in society not solely from the prism of sex or

gender, but from the overall dynamics in the society. Kitossa’s definition of African feminism

sums up the ideological construct in which African feminists engages with male perspectives

of the society and western liberal feminists views on women issues.

Just as western feminism is classified into different schools in which it reflects the different

movements in feminists thought, but what unites western feminist’s theorists is the belief

that society and legal order is patriarchal. African feminism can also be classified into

different schools, this depicts its diversity, within the movement there are two main schools

namely: 1) Stiwanism and 2) Womanism. I will not dwell on Womanism in this discourse but

rather focus on Stiwanism which is the intellectual contribution of Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie.

4.0 The Contributions of Molara Ogundipe-Leslie

According to Ogundipe-Leslie, the subject of African feminism becomes complex to define

because of the context of ‘an African’ this is because it raises a very common but important

controversy in Africa.13 For Ogundipe-Leslie,

There is no such thing as ‘African woman’ she cannot be contextualised in that way, rather
she has to be considered, analysed and studied in complexity of her existential realities, her
class, culture, race, ethnicity among some variables. African women are not a monolithic

12
T Kitossa, ‘Criticism, Reconstruction and African Centred Historiography’ in Njoki Wane et al Back to the
Drawing Board: African Canadian Feminism’ (Toronto: Sumach Press 2002) p.30
13
M Ogundipe-Leslie, ‘Stiwanism: Feminism in African Context’ in Re-creating ourselves: African Women and
Critical Transformation (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press Inc 1994) p.219

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group of illiterate peasants sporting some twenty-thirty educated women who speak
internationally and are discredited for being educated.14

While there may not be a monolithic ‘African woman’ it is necessary to adopt the phrase for

easy reference to the subject matter; this is because in writings and activism at the

international plane, African women tend to jettison their differences and forge a common

front. This Ogundipe-Leslie attests to in the following words:

This they do by leaning on their commonality that binds them which includes issues around
woman’s body, her person, her immediate family, her society, her nation, her continent and
their location within international and political order, because those realities in the
international, economic and political order determine African politics and its impact on
women.15

Ogundipe-Leslie sums up feminism in African context along certain praxis which is:

1. Feminism is not a cry for any kind of sexual orientation; sexual practice in Africa

tends to be private and considered private.

African women generally are not interested in sex exchange, they are comfortable in their

skin, and they most times are concerned with their space and issues of right and justice in

society. Sexual practice is a private issue, though there is now a clamour from the society

especially the Non-Governmental Organisations for sex to be publicly discussed.

2. Feminism is not the reversal of gender roles, ‘gender’ being defined simply as socially

constructed identities and roles

African women are not interested in being men, this is because

14
Ibid at p.228
15
ibid

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African variant of feminism grows out of a history of female integration within a large
corporate and agrarian based society with strong cultural heritages that have experienced
traumatic colonisation by the west; until recently, the reference points for western feminists
and African women activists have been totally different because western women were
emphasising individual autonomy while African women were emphasising culturally linked
forms of participation.16

3. Feminism is not penis envy or gender envy, wanting to be a man like they say to us;

4. Feminism is not necessarily opposition to men. It argues that a woman’s body is her

inherent property.

Steady argues, that African pattern of feminism can be seen as having developed within a

context that views human life from the total, rather from the dichotomous and exclusive

preserve. For women, male is not the ‘other’ but part of the human same. Each gender

constitutes the critical half that makes the whole. Neither sex is complete in itself to

constitute a unit by itself. Each has needs and a complement despite the possession of

unique features.17

5. Feminism is not dividing the genders

African feminism is not a separatist movement; it agrees that sex has a role to play in

women’s oppression. However, it argues that freedom from oppression is not based solely

on sex, but that there are other indices such as: politics, economics, social and cultural

manifestations of racial, cultural sexual and class biases; in other words, oppression of

women come from various spheres of human life and not necessarily sex.

16
G Mikell, African Feminism: The Politics of Survival in Sub-Sahara Africa, supra note 9
17
F Steady, ‘African Feminism: A Worldwide Perspective, supra note 11

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 6. It is not parrotism of western women’s rhetoric

African feminism is not an imitation of western feminism; rather, it is a space for reflection

and dialogue on the challenges facing African women. Adeleye-Fayemi notes that African

feminism tends to position itself to critique global structures and systems.18

7. It is not opposed to African culture and heritage, but argues that culture is

dynamically evolving and certainly not static; that culture should not be immobilised

in time to the advantage of women.

African feminism is not against African culture or heritage, all it attempts to do is to do away

with cultures and traditions that are inimical to the society especially to women. Nafis Sadik

echoes this succinctly when she reiterated that:

The function of culture and tradition is to provide a framework for human well-being; if they
are used against us, we will reject them, and move on. We will not allow ourselves to be
silenced.19

8. Feminism is not a choice between extreme poverty on the one hand or hateful

separatism from men on the other.

African feminists have not signed up for poverty; instead it is a theory, moreover an

ideology and a practical application to gendered consciousness to the lives of African

women in bringing about a just society.

Ogundipe-Leslie did not stop at enumerating what African feminism is all about; she went

further to offer her version of feminism which is stiwanism.

18
B Adeleye-Fayemi, ‘Creating a New World with New Visions: African Feminism and Trends in Global Women
Movement’ in J Kerr et al The Future of Women’s Rights: Global Visions and Strategies (London: Zed Books in
association with The Association for Women’s Rights in Development 2004) p.10
19
Director General, UNFPA 1998

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Stiwanism is an acronym for Social Transformation Including Women in Africa; the concept

recognises women as agents of transformation in the society. It contends with the notion

that the African society regards the post-colonial woman as incapable of contributing to

mainstream of discourse beyond the domestic roles; it argues that, the African woman has

the potential of engaging in the production of knowledge in the society.20 Thus, stiwanism is

the theoretical contribution of Ogundipe-Leslie to women’s theory in 1994; stiwanism is

preferred to feminism because it bypasses the combative discourse that ensues when the

word ‘feminism’ is mentioned in Africa. This new STIWA allows for a discussion for the

needs of African women today in the tradition of spaces and strategies provided within

African indigenous cultures for the social being of women. STIWA is about the inclusion of

African women in the contemporary social and political transformation of Africa.

5.0 Conclusion

African feminism as a subject evokes emotions, some negative and some positive. Some

scholars will have us believe African feminism is alien to Africa, these scholars in a way

dehumanises African women and portray them as doormats which they are not (especially

in the light of Aba Women’s War of 1929 and Lagos Market Women Protest in 1950s led by

Madam Alimotu Pelewura). Some other scholars celebrate African feminism by romanticing

our lives before the advent of the colonialists (the younger generation are not able to

appreciate this).

It should be noted that many scholars of African descent have written on African feminism

from several perspectives; definitions and nature of African feminism/principles have been

provided by a select few such as: Steady, Nnaemeka, Oyewumi, Okome, Adeleye-Fayemi

20
M Ogundipe-Leslie,’ Stiwanism: Feminism in African Context’ supra note 13

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etc. However, Ogundipe-Leslie praxis gives succinct details on what African feminism is all

about and this in my view is a contribution worth celebrating.

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