User:Jsp100/Colonial roots of gender inequality in Africa

Lead Paragraph
While much more is known about the effects of colonialism on all of Africa, less is known about the impacts of colonialism on specifically women.

For many women, colonialism resulted in an erosion of traditions and rights that formerly granted women equality and esteem. With new forms of gender inequality introduced, many of the cultural underpinnings of African societies were eroded, and this harm has been challenging to mend.

Theoretical frameworks that help to explain the colonial roots of gender inequality include coloniality of power and coloniality of gender. These decolonial theories provide an account of how gender inequality became situated within the African context. Furthermore, when analyzing present-day gender inequalities relating to political representation and economic and educational inequalities, it is important to recognize the role that colonialism had in producing these inequalities.

History
Gender inequality on the African continent has flourished as a result of the effects of colonialism that disrupted the pre-colonial economic, cultural, and political systems on the African continent. Colonialism introduced patriarchal norms, a disruption of traditional African gender roles, wage labor, and the criminalization of indigenous practices. Throughout colonization, European powers altered African communities with their patriarchal norms. As a result, women were cast aside and given inferior positions in the home and in society. Colonialism established the notion that women were subordinate to males and that men should hold all positions of power and authority

Consequently, traditional African gender roles were transformed: In African countries, colonialism altered traditional gender roles. In pre-colonial Africa, women had significant roles in agriculture and other economic activities in many African communities. In West Africa, women had much sway over disputes on markets and agriculture. Though with the establishment of colonial legal systems, laws were created that granted men precedence over women in matters of marriage and divorce. Thus, much of the precolonial activity that women were involved in was often ignored by colonial officials, who only appointed men to local political positions.

'''Women were queen-mothers, queen-sisters; princesses, chiefs and holders of offices and villages, occasional warriors, and in one well known case, the Lovedu, the supreme monarch. '''Yet, colonial laws and regulations restricted women's access to land and other resources, which resulted in their exclusion. In many African communities, colonization displaced women from their traditional roles in society, eroding their prestige and limiting them to passive beneficiaries of support.

Furthermore, Indigenous traditions were criminalized: many indigenous African rituals, like widow inheritance were made either illegal or limited severely by colonial authorities, so that women would not benefit as they were able to in the pre-colonial period. The criminalization of indigenous ways of life frequently resulted in the demonization of African cultures and weakened traditional gender roles. By imposing their own rules and ideals, which included a Westernized gender ideology that delegitimized native cultural practices, the colonial authorities intended to change the "uncivilized" African societies.

Ultimately, colonialism contributed to the widespread exploitation of women in Africa as a result of the introduction of wage labor. The fact that women usually worked in low-paying jobs and had limited access to educational possibilities made gender inequality worse. In Africa, women are still disproportionately employed in informal, unstable jobs with few possibilities for education or training. Overall, colonialism resulted in the marginalization of women across the continent and the decline of traditional African gender roles.

Women in post-colonial Africa, on the other hand, were not always protected from certain abuses because they no longer held societal or political power. Many scholars believe African women became virtually voiceless, unable to gain economic and educational equality.

Pre-colonial Africa
In pre-colonial African societies, women were largely included in the decision-making processes, as women were central figures whose values and commercial activities were engrained in the cultural fabric of these societies.

In northern Kenya, pastoralist women were given responsibility over the management of small cattle and processing of basic goods including meat, milk, and skins. These women had significant control over how these goods were traded and distributed.

Yoruba women were seen as active participants in the negotiations with foreign and local traders and merchants concerning long-distance trade and other commercial activities. Due to the influence, they had in their communities, Yoruba women held great power and esteem.

In Ghana, for example, the queen mothers of Asante were part of a dual-gender system of leadership alongside tribal chiefs. Together, the queen mothers and chiefs represented the center of authority for towns and villages in Asante culture, with the queen mother of Asante and king of Asante serving as the final authority ruling over the Asante people.

Post-colonial Africa
In northern Kenya, women their positions, authority, and respect that they had attained through their pastoralist responsibilities, as a result of a new colonial government that radically altered the social structure of these communities. Thereby, putting these women at the periphery of political and economic decision-making concerns.

In Nigeria, women were pushed into the background.

In Ghana, a substantial paradigm shift emerged as a result of colonialism, where a divide between tribal chiefs and queen mothers was created, and the influence of queen mothers was substantially reduced. Though, because of continued resistance to these changes brought on by colonialism, queen mothers remained steadfast in their commitment to their communities and after the rise of the global women's movement, once again gained prominence in their roles. Queen mothers, partnering with chiefs, now aided in the development of organizations that looked out for the welfare of their communities.

Theories of Gender Inequality in Africa
Different theoretical frameworks have been identified by scholars as being at the root of gender inequality in Africa. Despite this, most theories establish that contemporary African societies cannot be viewed outside the context of the European imperial project, as it is through this lens that the oppression and marginalization of women in Africa can be understood. Scholars generally believe that the African patriarchal system is one modeled after the Eurocentric perspective, in which European hierarchal structures were adopted, contributing to the diminution of women's role in family and home life throughout the continent. They identify notions of coloniality of power and coloniality of gender to explain gender inequality on the continent.

Coloniality of Power
Scholars identify the concept of coloniality of power, coined by Anibal Quijano, to provide a framework for understanding the relationship between power in Africa and the role of colonialism in producing the present-day conditions, including wealth and gender inequality, on the continent. This concept, initially advanced in Latin America postcolonial studies, has now been adopted to describe the interactions between Europe and other parts of the world, like Africa. This theoretical framework establishes that the European imperial project is at the core of the oppression of women in Africa. So, it stands to reason that colonialism regulated and continues to regulate various dimensions of African societies, including gender relations, culture, and the economy, among others. The decolonization myth upholds this relationship based on domination in order to maintain the global Euro-American hegemony. This theory explains how historical patterns of dominance and social hierarchies are interwoven with contemporary forms of oppression and marginalization.

Patriarchy became accepted in African cultures and solidified the subjugation of women in Africa. According to scholars, patriarchy can be thought of as an ideology or political system where men direct women on what roles they shall or shall not play in society, and women are thought of as inferior to men.

Yet, patriarchy was not Africa's primary system of political and social organization prior to colonization. Many matriarchal societies have existed throughout Africa’s history where women played important roles and maintained social equilibrium. The supremacy of patriarchy had its roots in Indo-European nomadic culture before spreading globally. In precolonial Africa, there was no transition from matriarchy to patriarchy since the social structure was fundamentally matriarchal in that women held power, passed down property and lineage, and were the flexible party in marriage and sexual unions. This changed drastically with the introduction of colonialism.

Coloniality of Gender
Coloniality of gender outlines that gender cannot be separated from colonialism. This theoretical framework, initially created by Maria Lugones to explain the role of colonialism in enacting Eurocentric gender structures onto Indigenous people of the Americas, builds on the coloniality of power framework to explain colonialism in Africa, though now with a deeper consideration of gender and race. From a coloniality of gender perspective, colonialism radically transformed the indigenous sense of identity as gender relations in Africa. Thus, Europeans understandings of gender supplanted pre-existing notions of sex and gender that had been established long before the arrival of Europeans. Furthermore, European understandings of gender became a tool for dominance by identifying two binary, hierarchal categories, where women became defined by their subservient relationship to men in all facets of life.

According to prominent de-colonial feminist scholar Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, "gender was not an organizing principle in Yoruba society prior to colonialization." Oyěwùmí, bases this conclusion on her studies of the Yoruba people in modern-day Benin, Togo, and Nigeria, where she finds that it was the Western world that introduced the idea of gender as a tool for dominance that denotes two binary and hierarchal social categories. As a result, women came to be defined by their relationships to men and were consequently denied access to power, land, and leadership positions in society. With the introduction of gender as a concept, women were created as a distinguishable category that was always subordinate to men in Yoruba culture.

Furthermore, scholars note that colonial authorities viewed African families as places of tradition and custom that needed to be changed through colonial intervention. Thus, through laws, colonial authorities aimed to radically change how African families operated, establishing new gender relationships based on what these authorities considered socially acceptable. Thereby, establishing new African "traditions," where communities and families who once deviated from Eurocentric norms, with non-patriarchal family structures or complementary gender relationships, now had to conform or face punishment or mistreatment.

Gender Inequalities in the 21st Century
Analysts and scholars contend that the global movements created to improve the livelihood of women in the West, and those living in urban cities, have not benefitted women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, many of the problems introduced through colonialism have continued on in the present-day in the form of gender-based inequality and violence against women. To close the gender gap in Africa, the issues African women face must become part of the global discussions. According to published reports, Sub-Saharan Africa is among the world's most gender-unequal regions. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), reports “perceptions, attitudes, and historic gender roles” prevent women from accessing health care and education and contributes to disproportionate levels of family responsibility, job segregation, and sexual violence.  In addition to facing structural barriers regarding educational and economic inequalities, women in Africa face major obstacles in being members of their national legislatures and executive bodies, and without adequate women's representation, women in Africa may not have as much opportunity to be substantively represented, allowing for many present-day inequalities to persist.

Educational Inequalities
For example, in Benin, the gender gap has been combatted through several initiatives like media campaigns emphasizing to parents the necessity of enrolling girls in primary school as well reforms like making upper secondary school education free for girls.

Two of the biggest challenges facing young girls' educational pursuits in Africa include concerns of child marriage and human trafficking. Countries like Mauritania have combatted child marriage through public campaigns against the practice. Furthermore, the implementation of practices like bus transportation for young girls in rural areas has helped to combat human trafficking.

Thus, in order to address this issue, countries like Guinea have made girl's education a national priority through grassroots efforts. Programs aimed at encouraging mothers to advocate for their daughter's education as well as initiatives intended to increase the quality of girls' education have been critical in addressing this gap

Made other changes, edits, proofread, added citations.

Economic Inequalities
Among the biggest challenges facing the continent is economic inequality, with women facing massive hurdles in being able to participate in areas such as employment and entrepreneurship. In Africa, women are still disproportionately employed in informal, unstable jobs with few possibilities for education or training.

Such realities maintain unequal allocations of unpaid care work, which has a negative influence on women's labor-force participation. Women in Africa perform four times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men, which exceeds the global average. Men continue to dominate traditional working sectors, due to social norms that regard men as rightful owners. Women's ownership of land is, in turn, stifled, with women only owning 12% of agricultural land despite accounting for over half of Africa's agriculture workforce.

Furthermore, the World Bank Group is working to facilitate financial capability trainings for women and the development of their business skills.

Added citations, proofread, other minor content edits

Political Underrepresentation
The legislatures of African nations have seen the highest increases of gender parity in the globe, due in large part to the implementation of quotas and reserved seats that have contributed to significant gains in the proportion of women in these national legislatures. Yet, from December 2021 to June 2022, only 17 women were elected or appointed to parliaments or electoral offices in West Africa out of the 134 positions that were available, and growth in women's participation in political bodies has been incredible small and slow, throughout the entire region.

According to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which tracks how many women are elected to parliaments all over the world, Sub-Saharan Africa is currently third out of the six major regional groupings, with a gender-parity percentage of 26%, behind the Americas and Europe, and ahead of Asia and the Pacific, and North Africa-Mideast. Regional figures on gender parity have been inflated by countries like Senegal, who passed a gender parity bill in 2010 requiring political parties to guarantee that women make at least 50 percent of their candidates. Countries like South Africa and Rwanda have achieved a 30% UN benchmark of women in parliament, with Rwanda having constitutional provisions reserving seats for women, and South Africa's ruling party voluntary allocating 50% of parliamentary seats to women. Though, most other countries in the region, including Nigeria and Benin, continue to be unable to pass gender equality legislation in Congress. In Benin, women remain significantly underrepresented in elected and appointed positions as a result of there being no laws or government initiatives taken to guarantee women’s political representation. Compared to countries without quota-like policies, women's representation in countries with such policies is 10 percentage points higher. With scholars recognizing the role of female political representation in impacting young girls career aspirations and education attainment, greater women's representation has the potential to alleviate other inequalities present on the continent in the long-term.

Despite the significant underrepresentation, there are signs of positive change. Djibouti, which had zero women in parliament in 2000, now has women comprising 26.2% of its parliamentary bodies. Furthermore, regarding ministerial positions, there have been significant increases in women ministers of defense, finance, and foreign affairs compared to 2017, with Rwanda and South Africa leading the way in that regard. According to UN Women, structural barriers like discriminatory laws and practices, as well capacity gaps including a lack of resources and education, are the greatest barriers to women's participation in the political arena, so addressing the deficits in legal frameworks in many of these countries, along with education and economic inequalities will be necessary in achieving gender equality in the region.