International Journal of Gender & Women's Studies

A Re-Consideration of African Perspectives of Women, Gender and Development
Alahira H.A

Abstract
The study of women as a subject or category of research is relatively a new discipline in Africa which has been bedeviled with divergent theoretical and methodological problems in an attempt to bridge the gender gap in development. The paper therefore re- examined such distortions by contextualing the discourse within the general development of capitalist and colonial societies. We started with the definition and coceptulization of the concepts of women, gender and development according to classical and Marxist perspectives and bringing out their limitations. We observed the distortions that have arisen in applying these conceptions to African societies. We also observed that Eurocentric views of African societies has contributed to such distortions which have made the diferent development strategies such as WID, WAD and GAD by national and international agencies to be in appropriate in achieving eguitatable and sustainable development in Afica. In conlussion we advocated for a new approach that will recognise specificities of African gender relations that are gender inclusive and not exclusive, complementary and not competitive, interdependent and not individualistic, self sustaining and not dependant or exploitative.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijgws.v2n4a4