Voices of African Women: Women's Rights in Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania
Edited by Johanna Bond
2005/Carolina Academic Press/456 pp/Paper: $45.00
Through the voices of various African women scholars hailing from Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania, this book examines the legal and political barriers to gender equality in Africa. The contributers to this book all have training in law, and all of them received training at both Georgetown University Law School in Washington, DC and at universities in their home countries. The chapters in this book therefore provide an in depth analysis of the constitutions and legal systems of the three African countries. Each essay analyzes the problems African women face at home and in society and each of the authors provide policy recommendations and ideas for improvement.
Each of the chapters covers every aspect of the lives of African women. Chapter one examines African women in the public sphere and in African universities. The criticism is that even with affirmative action policies intended to increase female enrollment in African universities and female participation in parliaments and governments, women are not adequately represented in either arena. Women in Africa continue to lag behind their male counterparts in university enrollment and seats set aside in African governments for women do not reflect their numbers in society. Women who are in African parliaments, therefore, often do not feel secure in raising voices of distention on the floors of legislatures. In the university setting the female experience is often colored by the sexual harassment and patronizing attitudes from both male counterparts and professors.
Chapter two covers violence against women in Africa and the lack of legal protection available to women. Rape and violence against women are used as tools of gender oppression and suppression in Africa. Chapter two contains seven essays on the lack of legal protection for African women who victims of rape or assault. Hadija Ally's chapter on refugee women in western Tanzania is the one essay that looks at violence against women is the context of conflict. This is important because of the effective use of rape as a tool of war in Africa. In order to understand its effectiveness you must examine cultural attitudes surrounding sex and women, which Ally does. Fitnat N-A. Adjetey's essay looks to Female Genital Mutilation as a possible form of torture, while the other essays look at domestic violence and the problems of reporting rape. All of these essay point out that women face challenges from the moment they report their abuse to the police who either are not interested or do not know how to help these women. At the next level women also face discrimination with judges who show a lack of sensitivity and often put the victim on trial questioning her morals and participation in bringing about her own assault.
The third chapter looks to women's rights within the family. Inheritance rights for women in Africa is a struggle that transcends class, religion, and ethnicity in Africa. Women in Africa face inheritance barriers within their birth family as well as within their marriages. These essays explain that in divorce it is very difficult for women to receive financial support or for properties to be distributed equitably. One criticism is that women's work in the home isn't given the same value as that of men outside of the home, therefore giving the impression that the wife made no contribution in the acquiring of marital property. In the case of a husbands death, many African women have seen their marital home stripped bare by their in-laws who claim the properties left behind as their own. Traditionally women are taken care of by the family of her husband, usually by marrying a brother of her husband. In today's Africa, particularly urban Africa, this practice is no longer adhered to by its traditional intention and many women simply find themselves in the streets with little legal protection or recourse. The authors explain the three-part legal system at play in many African countries. These are statutory, customary, and Islamic. It is the latter two the most often governs marital issues, and it is the latter two that are the most prejudicial towards women.
Chapter four examines the status of women concerning reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. The chapter also points to several cultural and traditional practices that increase the prevalence of HIV among African women. The essays in this chapter are critical of awareness campaigns carried out by governments saying that they do not go far enough in offering real protection for women. The chapter also re-examines discussions from the previous chapters on looking at the conditions in the family and in African traditions, like FGM and marital rape, that contribute to the high rates of infection among women in Africa. Careful not to strongly side on either side of the abstinence v. contraceptives debate on HIV prevention and awareness, the chapters give some real policy and legislative suggestions that African governments can undertake in order to address the pandemic. In Emma Ssali Namuli's essay on “Women and HIV/AIDS in Uganda” she mentions the HIV/AIDS campaign that Uganda, under President Yoweri Museveni, is famous for. She does, however, neglect to mention that the current rise in new HIV/AIDS infections is due in large part because of the war in northern Uganda. A war that has witnessed the sexual assault of thousands of Acholi women by both the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), the UPDF (Uganda People's Defense Force), and local officials, causing the HIV infection rate in the north to dwarf that of the rest of the country. Therefore, an end to the conflict would likely see a reduction in the rates of HIV infections in that region.
Another factor not expounded upon in the chapters was the “sugar daddy syndrome”, which has become a serious problem in many African nations, like Tanzania. Older men prey on young girls who come from poor families. The little bit of money these men provide these girls often pays for school fees, uniforms, and other expenses. In some cases, without the money from these sugar daddies many young girls would not be able to attend school. Many African nations were forced to implement school fees in accordance with World Bank and IMF Structural Adjustment Programs, causing not only a growing gap between the rich and the poor but also a growing population of uneducated girls and women. These economic realities need to be addressed by policymakers. An eradication of primary and secondary school fees, for example, would greatly reduce the perceived need for a “sugar daddy” and with it one avenue of HIV infections among young girls.
The fifth and final chapter addresses Women's Economic Empowerment. This chapter addresses the legal obstacles that have been lifted to allow for greater participation of women in the business world. A strict gender hierarchy existed under the colonial system. In most colonies women were relegated to the rural areas and were not allowed to follow their husbands to the cities or mining towns. Women of child birthing age who resided in the cities and mining towns were often prostitutes, a fact that stigmatized African women seeking to go into business in the cities. Most African states have chosen to adopt similar gender attitudes as their former colonial masters. African women are therefore facing several battles: the lack of legal protection needed to smash the glass ceiling, sexual harassment in the workplace, social attitudes regarding professional women, inheritance rights and other family constraints.
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Overall this book gives an in depth view of the social and legal constraints facing African women. While the book is specifically a case study of Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania, the problems and solutions are applicable to almost every African nation. The policy suggestions put forth by the various scholars are realistic and attainable. Each scholar is obviously very knowledgeable about African legal systems and policymaking.
The authors are also very critical of African customs that they perceive to have been responsible for the oppression of African women. The two customs in particular are polygamy and bride prices. I would argue, however, that it is perhaps not the practices that are oppressive to women, but the attitudes of the men who subscribe to those practices.
In Latin America, where the idea “machismo” pushes many Latino men to display acts of bravado and strength, domestic violence is rampant. In this region women face many of the same challenges as women on the continent: domestic violence, rising rates of HIV infection, poverty, illiteracy, oppression, and limited chances for political or economic advancement. Latin Americans, however, are not polygamous, nor are bride price traditions present in the region. Each region and culture takes different perspectives on marriage and gender and has unique traditions surrounding the two. The thread that ties all societies seems to be the vulnerability of women to violence and oppression because the lack of protection and representation for women in all governments and in all societies.
The book, edited by Johanna Bond, is an excellent examination of the social, legal, and political obstacles facing African women. The essays contribute greatly to legal and public policy discussions of women in Africa.
