Women and Gender Relations in Africa

This chapter presents a broad overview and analysis of historical literature focusing on Indigenous African women. It interrogates and contests western European anthropological gazes in the early interpretations of African women’s involvement as rulers in political regimes, their prominence in trade, and their involvement in lasting initiatives in physical and social infrastructures that define African societies. The writings include periods from the ancient through colonial and neocolonial periods. It shows how when stories from the past of goddesses, priestesses, and other leading female figures remain hidden until the African feminist gaze is applied to the interpretation of historical objects. A search for great glories is required to correct the distortions embedded in our knowledge bases that distort history, to shine a light on the occlusions in the interpretations of the past, to establish the need to revisit histories, and to shine light on areas not previously considered relevant to the psychologies and knowledge bases of oppressed peoples. If anything, antiquity is most important in contemplating women’s lives in the present day, as well as all of our lives in relation to women and the past.