Publisher's Synopsis
Marginalization and exclusion of African women from key decision-making processes is one of the legacies of European colonialism on the continent. This book has sufficient empirical evidence to proof that women in Africa were never excluded from key decision-making processes in precolonial period. This claim does not dissuade the fact that patriarchy never existed in Africa before colonialism, the position of this book is that despite the existence of patriarchy, women were never excluded from key decision-making processes in traditional African societies as observed in colonial and post-colonial era.
African women resisted exclusion when spates of women protest starting with the 1929 Aba women riots in Nigeria where women that were into businesses and other entrepreneurial activities resisted the British colonial tax policy. The grievance of these women was based on the grounds that they were not consulted or involved in the decision-making process that led to the imposition of taxes on them. The outbreak of Aba women riots in 1929 signaled the beginning women resistance to exclusion and marginalization especially from key decision-making processes in Africa.
This book: Exclusion of Women in Key Decision-Making in Africa is a must read for young girls and adults, women entrepreneurs and business leaders as well as those interested in politics and governance. The book will illuminate your minds and inspire you to think in different dimensions of life. Those who are into gender advocacy and feminist orientation should endeavor to grab this book to read. What makes this book to be unique is that; it traces the root or source of women's exclusion and marginalization in decision-making and politics to precolonial era where it wasn't much of a challenge because, empirical evidence shows that women held these leadership positions and participated in key decision-making processes before the advent of European colonialism in Africa.
Colonial rule divided the African societies into two major blocs of public and private. Women were restricted to the private bloc while men had the liberty to dominate the public and also play in the private bloc if they wish. This dichotomy is responsible for the exclusion and marginalization of African women in public spaces and governance even in contemporary times. Notwithstanding, appreciable progress in terms of women's involvement in key decision-making in some African societies have been made in recent times, but more still needs to be done to increase the number of women in public spaces. For instance, the Nigerian senate has one hundred and nine (109) elected members representing about two hundred and fifty million (250,000,000) people. Only four (4) women are elected members of the Nigerian senate. Obviously, women in Nigeria are under-represented in public space of decision-making in the country.
