Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch

A broad overview of African women's history from the eighteenth century to the 1990s, African Women uses thematic chapters on such issues as work, education and political involvement to examine not just women's lives in sub-Saharan Africa, but also the major differences in gender roles in the region. As an introduction to the topic, it's useful, and I learned about many individuals and institutions which, to my shame, I had never heard of before—for instance, Kimpa Vita/Dona Beatriz of Angola, an eighteenth century millenarian prophet who founded her own religious sect that blended Christianity and animism, or the common practice of "woman-to-woman marriage" in areas of central and southern Africa.

That said, I did find areas of the book quite problematic, especially on issues of gender/sexual orientation. Shaka Zulu, for example, lead female soldiers due to the 'castrating influence' of his mother and his homosexual tendencies. Coquery-Vidrovitch also seems surprisingly reluctant to give space to the voices of African women, stating in her introduction that such a history isn't yet possible because not enough African women have found voices of their own. I would query whether they're not speaking, or Coquery-Vidrovitch isn't listening.… (more)