Workshop Report | January 2002, Cape Town, South Africa
Strengthening Gender and Women's Studies in African Contexts
The African Gender Institute organised the workshop 'Strengthening Gender Studies in African contexts' to bring the community of people working in gender and women's studies together in order to review and critically reflect on teaching and research in gender studies on the African continent, and to develop strategies for enhancing the quality of this work.
The main weaknesses of African teaching, research and policy development in the field of gender were identified as being due to the poor institutional support within the higher education sector, and the dominance of reductionist and technocratic approaches to gender within a development industry that has limited understanding of African societies and gender relations. This has resulted in a lack of attentiveness to African realities in all their diversity, a situation that has been exacerbated by the depletion of local theory and research capacities all over the continent. Gender and women's studies scholars therefore find themselves working in isolation. Being both overworked and under-resourced they find themselves having to rely on the most easily available resources, which tend to be those produced by the development industry, or by scholars coming from more affluent Western academies. Consequently, scholarship becomes de-politicised, and its strategic relevance to Africa's ongoing transformation is compromised.
The African Gender Institute undertook
to follow this initial continental workshop in several ways. The first involves
establishment of a Gender and Women's Studies website, which will be used to
continue the work of critically reviewing current research and disseminating
African resources and publications to the community of GWS scholars. Secondly
the AGI has committed itself to setting up an electronic journal to ensure that
critical debate over the intellectual and political content of GWS teaching
and research can be continued. Thirdly, the AGI undertook to follow up this
initial workshop with curriculum development and training
workshops designed to develop a core curriculum for the teaching of transformative
gender studies in African contexts, and to increase the ICT skills of the GWS
teachers participating in the network.
The participants at the meeting agreed that the hitherto fragmented community of GWS scholars would form a network to address these challenges. The envisaged network would aim to contribute to the strengthening of transformative gender studies by enhancing the level of intellectual rapport within the GWS academic community, and by deepening the synergy between research, teaching and feminist activism in African contexts. The network members will share the responsibility for all its work and its general direction, but will be initially established and hosted by the African Gender Institute, and will draw on the ICT capacities of existing electronic networks and the AGI in order to do so.
The workshop ended with participants feeling re-energised. Before departing, participants resolved to continue their work, drawing on the new ideas they had gained from the deliberations, and feeling positive about the renewed intellectual rapport that the meeting had initiated within the GWS community.
The following persons all contributed to the successful implementation of the workshop:
The AGI's international advisory
board: Professor Njabulo Ndebele, Prof Robin Cohen, Hon Ambassador Nozipho January-Bardill,
Hon MP Naledi Pandor, Hon MP Pregs Govender, Prof Bolanle Awe, Prof Takiywaa
Manuh,
Dr Zenebeworke Tadesse
The workshop facilitator: Hope Chigudu
The GWS project team: Desiree Lewis, Joanne Henry, Shereen Essof, Jennifer Radloff, and Amina Mama
The AGI administrative team: Brenda Martin, Glynis Samuels, Hilda Ferguson, Wardah Daniels
The Workshop Participants Who came
to deliberate, reflect on, and develop strategies for the strengthening of gender.
studies all over the African continent.
Acknowledgement
The workshop was organised under the auspices of the AGI's research, teaching and capacity-building project 'Strengthening Gender Studies for Africa's Transformation'. The AGI acknowledges the generous support of the Ford Foundation for this continent-wide research, training and capacity building project.
Since its establishment in 1996, the main goal of the African Gender Institute (AGI) has been to strengthen African-based understanding of gender and its importance to social transformation among researchers, writers, and scholars on the continent. Over the past five years, the AGI has grounded itself within the institutional context of an African University, and developed strong connections with a number of national, sub-regional, and continental allies and partners. These connections have kept the Institute fully alert to the challenges facing higher education on the continent and also to a range of opportunities for increasing African participation in conceptual and practical work towards gender justice, in educational institutions as well as in the broader policy context.
The expansion of gender studies in
Africa reflects the growing realisation that the struggle for gender justice
is central to the social and political transformation of the region. However
the institutionalisation of strong programmes in gender studies in African universities
is currently hampered by several key challenges. The structurally weak position
of women in tertiary
institutions, and the very limited resources for teaching and research in gender
studies are
particularly constraining, given the strategic and intellectual importance of
generating home-grown gender studies that address the still poorly understood
realities of past and present African gender relations and cultures. Because
gender studies remains underdeveloped in African institutions of higher learning,
the region continues to be deprived of significant human and intellectual resources
for social transformation.
While the overall number of women in African universities may have grown rapidly
since the end of colonial rule, the gendered distribution of power and privilege
remain severely skewed against women. When it comes to intellectual output,
a gender audit of Africa's leading regional social
science organisations is revealing. The sphere of gender relations continues
to be one of the most important sites of transformation in the African region.
Politicians and policy-makers frequently display a politically correct concern
with gender inequality; yet remain reluctant to implement real changes. Lack
of expertise and information are often cited as major obstacles in overcoming
discrimination and its consequences.
Scholars and researchers in gender studies within the region are a valuable intellectual resource. Because of their subject matter, gender studies scholars and researchers are often both methodologically innovative and cross-disciplinary in their orientation. Furthermore, perhaps in response to their isolation within local institutions, they tend to be connected to centres all over the world, but are less connected with one another in the African region because of the infrastructural and intellectual constraints resulting from African underdevelopment. In some instances as a response to this, it is within gender studies that one finds some of the most innovative applications of information technology in the region being pioneered.
The AGI recognises that strengthening
gender studies in the African academies is a challenge that requires careful
attention to strategy. Those concerned with developing gender studies must tread
a delicate balance, retaining links to political practice without being reduced
to the status of government and corporate service-providers. Thus within this
framework, the AGI convened a two and half day consultative continental workshop,
bringing together over 30 teachers, researchers and ICT gender specialists from
eight African countries. The workshop focused on the following agreed objectives:
o To explore the various motivations and conditions generating an interest in
gender in diverse African contexts.
o To map the institutional, financial and technological conditions within which African gender studies has emerged and developed during the last two to three decades.
o To examine the availability of resources and materials for teaching gender studies in Africa and the articulation of these needs with the kind of research currently being conducted.
o To develop the linkages between ICT gender activism and gender studies in and beyond the academy.
o To explore the strategic and political relevance of teaching and research in gender studies to governance and policy making, and the implications of this articulation for regional
transformation and development,
particularly in the area of gender equality and justice.
o To set out an agenda for the strengthening of transformative gender studies
in African
teaching and research institutions.
o To develop a set of partnerships for the implementation of the above agenda.
The workshop opened with a reception that allowed participants to interact informally and meet members of the AGI International Advisory Board, members of the broader GWS community in the city of Cape Town. Guests of honour Prof Njabulo Ndebele, The Vice Chancellor of UCT and the Honorables Naledi Pondor and Pregs Govendor helped set the tone for the deliberations.
"This workshop represents a unique, historical gathering of African scholars in the field of gender and women's studies. It is and occasion for celebration and laying the foundations for future work."
Ambassador Nozipho January Bardill, Chairperson of the AGI International Advisory Board
"My arrival at UCT 18 months ago, it was apparent that most of the programmes engaging in transformative work, like the African Gender Institute, were on the periphery of the institution. The challenge is to find a way of bringing such work greater visibility which will demand considerable intellectual commitment over the next few decades, not only from UCT but also across the continent."
Njabulo Ndebele, UCT Vice Chancellor
"Part of the success of the Strengthening Gender Studies for Africa's Transformation project will be accomplishing greater links and coherence between academic institutions and policymakers in order to assist in the transformation of all institutions of society. At the moment much of that discussion is still not being taken seriously in political institutions."
Hon Naledi Pandor, Head of Council of Provinces
"The need for women scholars cannot be overly emphasized. They ensure we are kept constantly conscious and informed of the realities of poor women, the pervasiveness of gender based on violence, the impacts of wars, the significance of linkages between the local and the global, the value resides in the individual and collective commitment to challenging the scourges facing the world."
Hon Pregs Govender, Member of Parliament and Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on the Quality of Life and Status of Women
Institutional and teaching capacity for GWS in Africa
A mood characterized by sharing, candle light and story telling set the tone of the workshop, as participants introduced themselves and the institutions and organizations they were representing. Facilitated by Hope Chigudu, workshop participants reflected on the strengths and resources, personal and political commitments, disciplinary skills and expertise, as well as ICT experience brought to the workshop and GWS in Africa.
In plenary workshops, participants recognized and affirmed the rich range of experiences and skills which they would draw upon to enrich the workshop process.
The stock take of commitments revealed: a commitment to women's liberation and African transformation backed by energy, optimism, enthusiasm; a critical understanding of the politics of African feminisms in relation to northern contexts; and a belief and commitment to the generation of new knowledge and informed African feminist praxis. Participants infused many years of experience into their analysis, research and teaching and carried various parts of the rich herstory of women's activism and organising on the continent. With their wealth of experience, workshop participants were all seen as role models for valuable younger generations of feminist scholars and activists.
1.1 Mapping Country Profiles and Herstories
In developing an agenda for strengthening
GWS on the continent, it is important to first take a step back and ascertain
the history of its development and assess how national socio-political and economic
conditions have influenced the development and shape that gender and women's
studies has taken in particular country specific settings.
Facilitator Hope Chigudu asked the forum to undertake a reflective and exploratory
exercise in national focus groups. The groups were asked to construct national
profiles of gender and women's studies and discussion was guided by three key
questions: How has the national context informed the direction GWS has taken?
How has the international context informed directions GWS has taken? What National
gender politics have prevailed?
Rich and diverse country profiles were shared in plenary discussion. Similarities and differences across sub-regions and indeed the continent clearly revealed the institutional and intellectual ethos within which GWS on the African continent is located.
Country Profiles
The third international women's conference in Nairobi in 1985 laid the foundation for the department of gender studies at Makerere University where teaching started in 1991. The globalisation of this process was positive in the sense that it gave Uganda access to ICTs and the sharing of information and knowledge within the global village. It also financed the construction of the biggest GWS department in Africa. On the negative side, World Bank and IMF thinking shattered the dream of a fully-fledged women's ministry, instead providing a small severely understaffed unit in a government department.
The women's movement was identified as a key force that has shaped GWS in Uganda. The movement highlighted how inequality affected women workers in different sectors of the economy, and this resulted in the design of additional courses to address the role of women in various areas of development. The war sparked vociferous protest among grassroots women, activists and academics, and this had a positive impact on GWS teaching.
In July this year Makerere will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the gender studies department by announcing its new GWS programme which will emphasise theory and analytical skills for students. The limitations of the sectoral course approach have been recognised by the university.
There are close linkages with local communities who are served with training materials developed by the department, which also offers support to state agencies such as local government who are assisted with the integration of gender planning in their departments. These demands, however, do raise questions about whom the university should be serving.
It is a common myth that Uganda has
a model of a gender -sensitive and women-friendly government. Although there
is a national gender policy and implementation plans, these are the result mainly
of political expediency; there is little evidence of gender justice delivery.
It was felt that President Museveni takes a very paternalistic view of women's
struggles, often referring to himself as the driver of the vehicle of the women's
movement who should not be rushed unless he be crushed in the process. The women's
movement in the country is episodic, organised in terms of an issue-based and
crisis approach, and this leaves it vulnerable to co-optation.
1.1.2 SOUTH AFRICA
Gender struggles have taken second place in the liberation movement and the impact of this is still felt in South Africa. The focus at national level is on superficial expressions of commitment to gender equity rather than tangible change.
It was felt that this legacy is reflected among the young on campus who lack a historical perspective, see themselves as liberated and embrace media stereotypes. Teachers have difficulty dislodging this: the rise of materialism is also spawning a generation of women who want to be like young white men.
GWS is attractive to students who are conscious that they need a good overall educational grounding to qualify for the job market. Unlike other departments, GWS doesn't merely produce and reproduce the status quo. In GWS, students' ideas of the world are destablised and teachers have to take care to encourage their confidence in a new world view and their belief in bringing value to an alternative society.
For this reason, GWS needs to place greater emphasis on independent knowledge production; the internationalisation of feminism can easily degenerate into another form of colonisation. There is also a need to ensure that our perceptions and articulations about what happens in society are in keeping with what is reflected on the ground. For example, notions of parenting are changing and demand new ways of understanding family dynamics or definitions of concepts like childhood or parentage. Authentic feminism must be less concerned with how "correct" the curriculum is, than with its being appropriately adapted to the world we live in.
It was felt that South Africa must build relationships with countries on the continent to do justice to African texts and contribute to the ongoing development of such texts. With regard to networking, it was stated that many were excluded from past GWS networks and that ICT accessibility often exacerbated this exclusion. There is a way in which the latest technologies mirror the earlier exclusions of older technologies.
The support of donor communities has depoliticised GWS (e.g. "bringing more women in" creates a focus on individual advancement and careerism). Instead, what is needed is a reinsertion of politics with a capital "p" in GWS as well as national transformation at a structural level.
It was acknowledged that within the institutional context, resources have shrunk and academic programmes that aren't generating income are under threat, so there is need for strategies to strengthen GWS, possibly through co-operation at a regional level which draws on individual countries' strengths.
In Ghana - and West African countries generally - the representations of women in the literature paints a picture of strong market women, with the men being almost peripheral to operations. Although there are such spaces for women to exercise power, certain cultural and religious legacies still circumscribe women's lives. In spite of positive law, structural adjustment programmes and poverty mean that very little has changed in real terms.
UN agencies have played a dominant role in Ghana, exerting strong influence on government policy and creating a prominent role for femocrats. The military regimes' need for legitimacy gave rise to the first lady clubs. The Beijing delegation was selected by the first lady and the implementation arrangements were drafted by femocrats. Women who work in NGO's largely deal with the practical gender needs of women. This work often involves very little questioning of the gender division of labour, policies or undertaking research.
Ghana has a women's ministry and a minister with cabinet status. However, the ministry has no gender competence, and no budget. Within the women's movement the 'good girls' busy themselves with issues such as family violence and welfare, while disruptive women ask more critical questions such as, why the state emphasises poverty reduction when it could be eradicated altogether. In a new network for women's work, there are tensions between the two groups; the approach of "the disruptive" keeps them out of the limelight. Various networks such as the Development and Women Studies (DAWS) and Netright exist, creating space for Ghanaian women to reflect on and share experiences in various ways.
The tradition of GWS has to some
extent been institutionalised in Ghana, with a smattering of teaching located
in disciplines such as anthropology. A culture and Development master's course
emphasizes social theory critique. By the end of the 1980s there were two fully-fledged
GWS courses established at the university in the African Studies Centre. Many
NGO staff, especially men, enroll for these courses because of the career advantages.
There is much interest in gender training. (Recently, even a university registrar
wanted such training.)
GWS has been unsettling for students who have had difficulty adapting to the
"negative" aspects of challenging the status quo. Setting up links
involving other African universities has been problematic because the sponsoring
European universities are reluctant to enter into triangular links involving
more than one African university.
Many similarities were drawn between Ghana and Ethiopia. In Ethiopia the military dictatorship meant that women missed out on the foundational and groundbreaking period 1985 - 1995. Yet some 40 percent of the liberation movement at the time was made up of women.
The first GWS programme started at
the end of the 1980s, spurred by a growing market of sponsored NGO students,
almost 80 percent of which are men. These factors had the effect of weakening
theoretical reflection.
At the national level, the gender machinery includes a Women's Affairs Office.
The country has a gender friendly constitution and policies, but there has been
no implementation because the government had assumed the process would be fully
donor funded. The revived women's movement deals mostly with violence, which
has increased markedly in recent years. The movement is not linked to the knowledge
production processes at universities and research centres.
Before the 1980s, women individually and collectively started demanding greater representation in Cameroon. As in the rest of West Africa, there were many professional women's organisations and women were active in agriculture, health, and other areas. There was public awareness of women's disadvantaged social position.
The emergence of international conventions resulted in the national gender machinery being established in 1984. The women's ministry is now one of the mainstream government ministries. The national government has embraced the mainstreaming of gender, but lacks clarity of direction in respect of gender policy development and implementation.
The introduction of GWS in 1993 was directly related to the need for capacity building for the gender machinery, but it faces major obstacles around resources. It was felt that GWS had not suffered any distinctive sidelining in the university institution. It is in great demand and the constraints are similar to those of other university departments.
Academics and activists are often at loggerheads about the interpretation of issues such as equity, and they do not interact with government in implementing gender mainstreaming. The links between academia and activists are weak and there is a need for the high level of public awareness to be matched by activism. There is generally great demand for gender expertise across society. National institutions need to combine their efforts in relating to donors in order to enhance the position of GWS in teaching, research and training.
Botswana's four participants used
their different personal biographies to show that the
achievement of gender consciousness involves a long journey for most. Personal
development in a particular national and regional context impacts on what gets
taught in GWS. Some unique features of personal history and having been part
of a national liberation struggle foregrounding race meant that gender did not
become a significant factor in Botswana before the1990s. It was only at this
point that gender began to be used as a critical tool in teaching. At a personal
level, the process of becoming gender conscious saw a shift from reluctance
to an acceptance of gender. Gender has not been foregrounded by the academy
or canonisation in Botswana. It was felt that the current generation of teachers
is pioneering gender studies, which puts Botswana very much at the level of
a beginner in comparative terms. There is no department of women studies per
se; instead courses are lodged in particular programmes such as literature,
sociology, anthropology etc.
At a national level, literacy levels in Botswana were always very low, and this has had an impact on tertiary education. The courageous women activists who emerged in 1980s did so by default and also because of a history of migrant labour which saw men going to the mines and leaving the secondary schools dominated by girl pupils.
The country has a tradition of democratic
practice and activism and there was a dearth of gender activism after independence.
Gender is being instituted now at a time when it has already won legitimacy
in government and the academy. Academics have taken the initiative in pushing
for policy changes. At the Botswana University every faculty has a gender committee
and there is a masters-level specialisation course on gender and education.
The support of male colleagues and a female vice chancellor has been an advantage.
A fully-fledged gender studies programme is in the pipeline.
1.1.7 NIGERIA
Nigeria experienced a high level of women's activism in the colonial period. At independence the National Council of Women's Societies (NCWS) cut across southern and northern interests but this collaboration didn't last long because the rulers had separate agendas for different regions, which soon divided the women's movement. Successive military regimes after independence saw the emergence of a vibrant first lady's club. GWS activities have ranged from the conservative idea of a women's university headed by the president's wife to the formation of radical groups like WIN, formed in 1982.
Other influences have been the feminisation of poverty, the fragmentation of the women's movement and the replication of authoritarian structures in society - even among NGOs. Mercifully, organised opposition to feminism started declining in the 90s, although there are still many Nigerian activists who are strongly anti-feminist.
The earliest GWS conference took place in the 1960s. The first women's studies programme was established in the 1970's; later WORDOC was started by Professor Awe at Ibadan in 1987. Several universities now have a women's studies presence. In 1996 there was a conference setting the agenda for women's studies in Nigeria and a national NWSN network was formed attracting over 120 members in its first two years of activity.
The fragmentation of the international women's movement was felt in Nigeria. Women in Nigeria (WIN) took its own orientation for granted, anticipating that new recruits would share the vision, yet this did not happen. This was seen to be understandable in the general context of the anti-intellectualism of military rule. An activist-intellectual split resulted, with intellectuals being increasingly marginalised.
Thus WIN was used as a front by men who could not organise independently and also by women with femocratic tendencies. The latter phenomenon is not unique to Nigeria; in the period of economic restructuring in the early 90s, a tendency emerged of seeing the international women's movement as a career opportunity. This trend has been exacerbated with the middle class being gradually obliterated as intellectuals have become poorer. There are many examples of initiatives and funded projects with limited gender competence.
The development of African feminists on the continent was seen as chance to address issues of appropriation of theory and the documentation of local experience. How are we to develop theory that is not imposed on African scholars? How are we to retain control over local resources, and who gets to write the continent's histories?
Zimbabwean participants drew a distinction between women's studies and gender studies, arguing that the two spoke to different conceptual issues.
In Zimbabwe and continentally, women's studies has remained the responsibility of individuals. The Zimbabwean participants questioned whether women's studies is to be institutionalised within centres of higher learning where women are experiencing tremendous difficulty with labels of feminism. It was felt that gender studies had also grown out of the women's movement, but been appropriated by state machineries and those seeking upward mobility. They also expressed concern over the legitimacy of feminism and whether it could lay claim to authenticity on the continent or not.
In Zimbabwe, intersections have been pronounced between definitions of race and issues of age, class and location. In both the academy and the women's movement these issues have often been prioritised, and the necessary conversation about the situation of black women in the new independent state could not take place.
On issues of land, the women's movement has a very difficult relationship with the state because it raises tremendous contestation. Women are bypassing the state, asserting claims to land, and challenging entrenched power relations.
The women's movement in Zimbabwe has also raised issues of constitutionalism, which in itself has raised questions about the heterogeneity of the movement. The movement is facing many challenges around disunity and is refocusing attention on national projects rather than on specific interests and concerns.
The presentations raised the very
varied contexts in which GWS scholars in Africa are operating. The participating
countries were seen to represent the full spectrum of political scenarios on
the continent as well as the varied histories of gender-based scholarship and
feminist activism.
One of the key themes that emerged from the presentation of the country profiles
centred on the impacts and implications of globalisation and international feminism.
It was thought that on the one hand globalisation served to create an environment
for feminist and gender agendas to be realized, yet on the other, de-politicized
gender through its mass uptake and reproduction by international agencies. Most
countries were concerned that donor agendas focused on "bringing more women
in" but showed little interest or commitment to challenging existing power
structures or gender relations.
The funding crisis in tertiary education was raised as a point of concern. Scenarios were given where valuable programmes that don't generate income are under threat while initiatives that do not deliver are being funded. It was suggested that regional strategies to strengthen GWS could draw on the strengths and avoid the weaknesses of individual countries.
Presentations that showed different models for the institutionalization of GWS were seen to occur across the continent. Women's studies and gender studies tend to be collapsed into one field with the institutional arrangements ranging from fully-fledged departments to single courses offered in various departments.
Choices around what theory to teach and analytical skills to develop raised difficulties in many countries. An important challenge facing African scholars is how to develop theory and ethical and analytical capacity that is African-centered in the face of situations where students are overwhelmingly influenced by the dominant trends of materialism and careerism.
Through the presentation the influence
of the women's movement and relationships between scholars and activists on
GWS became apparent and the need for strengthening this link evident as a means
to guide and strengthen course content. As the Botswana delegation pointed out,
the interaction of the personal and the political in teaching GWS pointed to
the need for students' own self reflection and a commitment on the part of GWS
teachers to the long personal journey to a gender consciousness.
1.2 Teaching Curriculum and Rationale
The chairperson of the session, Rudo Gaidzanwa, began the session with an open-ended discussion on GWS curriculum content across the Continent. Participants then broke into sub-regional groups in order to consider the key challenges and priorities for curriculum development strategy through the consideration of the following questions: Why do we teach? Whom do we teach? What do we teach? How do we teach? How can ICT support GWS? After animated group discussion, feedback on teaching curriculum for GWS was shared in plenary exchanges.
At undergraduate level, a diversity of young students took GWS courses; however at post-graduate level it was felt that mature students who are seeking gender skills as a stepping-stone for future careers enroll for study. In some contexts students are found to be resistant to GWS course content and this raised difficult questions for teachers.
Participants explored the pedagogic strategies used in teaching difficult and challenging subject-matter. It was felt that in this sphere much depended on the politics and personal skills the teacher brought into the classroom. An empowering environment was seen to encourage exchange of knowledge on multiple levels and participatory methods were held to be important; however it was noted that many students wanted to be lectured to and with large classes there was little option. This was problematised through discussion of the question: to what extent are GWS lecturers willing to subvert or change the teacher/student relationships? Mentoring was often seen as a valuable intervention, but one that could only be used in a limited way, because of time constraints and pressures of numbers facing teachers.
This enabled participants to revisit the aims of GWS which was felt by its teachers to be an intervention intended to bring about social transformation, engendering knowledge and empowering students.
The session illustrated the difficulties that arise in trying to surface the thinking and politics that informs GWS teaching, and to make practical use of this knowledge in the face of institutional constraints and intellectual legacies. However creating reflective spaces, like that provided by the workshop, was felt to be necessary in order to ensure a more sustained engagement with the central questions regarding GWS teaching and its future direction.
Feminist theory was seen to be integral to GWS and it was felt that teachers needed to commit themselves to teaching theory and to be competent and confident enough to draw on International feminist theory. Old arguments that feminism undermined nationalist struggles and betrayed African culture were felt to contribute to student resistance to feminism. It was stressed that the term "gender" has the advantage of seeming more neutral in its connotations.
The implications of all this for teaching were discussed at length. Participants emphasised the need for a professional approach by teachers. GWS teachers need to be capable of suspending their own subjectivities, and understanding their own reactions to students. The importance of not imposing agendas on students in a tyrannical manner was underlined. Students should be encouraged to reason independently and to critically assess their own personal locations, and the political and intellectual implications of their own backgrounds and contexts.
It was felt that the question "do we teach GWS?" needed further exploration and should be constantly revisited in the course of ones teaching practice.
Intellectual Resources for GWS in Africa
Day two set out to explore what resources
are needed to develop and strengthen teaching in GWS. The exploration was undertaken
in three parts. First, there was a presentation on African gender research.
This was followed by a panel discussion on linkages and networks serving teaching,
research and gender activism. Lastly, the discussion was taken further in group
work that explored the possibilities that exist for strengthening GWS through
networking and linkages.
Prof Bolanle Awe reconvened the workshop and began by introducing 2 documents: African Women's Studies: 1980 - 2001 A Review Essay and African Women's Studies: 1980 - 2001 A Working Bibliography, which the AGI was in the process of producing. These two documents provided participants with a review of GWS research in Africa and a comprehensive bibliography respectively. The session was used as a think tank to critically discuss the two documents in preparation for publication, and to raise points for consideration in the ongoing exploration and development of research. The discussion identified gaps and areas for similar reviews in the future.
Prof Awe introduced Dr Desiree Lewis who presented the main insights of her review essay to the workshop and provided the following summary as a basis for open-ended discussion and feedback. The summary highlighted the main findings in the eight key fields explored in the essay: Feminist Theory and Women's Movements; History and Social Transformation; Women, Politics and the State; Labour, Economy and Development, Women's Health; Religion and Education; Life history, Biography and Autobiography; Literary Criticism and Cultural Studies. By way of distinguishing African feminist research and gender advocacy, Lewis stated that, as many have already argued, African gender research and scholarship originated mainly in donor activity and external initiatives. This made the origins of gender research in Africa different from its origins in the West, where regional political priorities closely shaped early feminist research and scholarship. She went on to stress, however, that GWS in Africa today has developed a strong connection to local priorities and advocacy, whereas western feminist scholarship has become increasingly specialised and disconnected from gender advocacy and feminist politics.
Four main trajectories in African feminist theory can be identified. One emerges out of a radical anti-colonial tradition that has foregrounded gender struggles in the postcolonial period. A second comprises scholars who have drawn mainly on black American feminism, with many of these identifying themselves as "womanists" and focusing on existential issues. A third includes many recent feminist researchers who draw on post-structuralism to think in new ways about issues such as subjectivity, power and discourse. A last includes feminists based in the West who have focused on African subjects and whose work in fields like history, economics and literary studies has contributed broadly to African feminist theory.
Two main trends can be identified in historical work: a tradition of feminist scholarship based in the west who have worked extensively on African women, and tradition of scholarship rooted in Africa and focusing on challenges that face the discipline in the context of African political and institutional contexts. The former is associated with scholars like Nancy Hunt, Margaret Srobel and Marcia Wright, while the latter includes scholars such as Professor Bonlale Awe, Cheryl Johnson-Odim and Nina Mba. In recent years, many of those working from a western base show a strong preoccupation with mainstreaming gender that seems part and parcel of broader movement among western feminists to integrate their work into the academic mainstream and to find places within male-dominanted canons. In contrast, a continental-based tradition is concerned with "herstory" and the writing of women into history. As such, it registers that "mainstreaming" cannot occur when African historiography continues to be heavily male-centred, and when the narratives and analysis of African women continue to be silenced or peripheral in African politics and intellectual life.
2.1.3 Women, Politics and the State
The very broad category of women, politics and the state has been expanding massively in recent years. A key development in this research is a focus on women in statecraft, with much of this focusing on Uganda and South Africa, which have shown the most important developments in terms of women's involvement in politics. An especially noteworthy discussion has revolved on femocracy. Some scholars conclude that many women politicians have been co-opted into conservative post-colonial state apparatuses, yet have little interest in advancing women's concerns. Other scholars, many of these South African, have suggested that femocracy can be a means towards a progressive end, and that women's inclusion in state-craft can lay the basis for more radical subsequent developments. The differing arguments about divergent African contexts raises the importance of scholars being vigilant about the specific circumstances that affect women's involvement in the state. More generally, they indicate the importance of regionally specific studies that offer insights into continental trends without losing sight of local dynamics.
A key issue in the consideration
of women, politics and the state, concerns the extent to which gender advocacy
in Africa has been dominated by the state, rather than by interventions from
civil society and intellectual activism. Throughout the continent, the abundance
of progressive research has often not fed into policymaking or advocacy because
of the state's dominant role in co-opting the women's movement, or in taking
ownership of gender advocacy in most parts of Africa. Dzodtsi Tsikata, who has
dealt with the state and gender policy in Ghana, provides a provocative general
discussion of how this situation affects Africa. This is a crucial issue because
it raises numerous challenges about the ways in which feminist scholars make
interventions as researchers and activists and how they can intervene in advocacy
work. Because state hegemony is preventing African feminist thinking from filtering
into policy, feminists must carefully consider how their scholarship can move
beyond the academy and begin to shake the stranglehold of the state on gender.
Many African feminist scholars have been successful in this by working within
progressive projects within the state, by working collaboratively and by generally
making efforts to combine work within the academy with research and other gender
work beyond it.
2.1.4 Labour, Economy and Development
In the sphere of labour, economy and development it remains noteworthy that the dominant paradigm of donor- or state-driven development continues to shape policy-making for women's roles in the economy. This is true despite the many astute critical studies of WID, WAD and GAD models produced by African scholars. An important focus within recent research deals with the minutiae of women's work, with the emphasis on regional dynamics and microeconomics developing more useful critical insights than surveys of broad and general trends.
There are two striking concerns about research on women's health. First, the discussion of sexuality and African women is disturbingly dominated by what is starkly medical, painful, pathological or bizarre, rather than on women's psychic well-being. Looking at the African women's Bibliographic Database, for example, one finds that the lists of references on female genital mutilation are endless. These studies are produced mainly by western scholars and indicate a long legacy in which African women's bodies have been a means for projecting the fantasies and anxieties of those in the west. It is extremely disturbing that colonial projections are still filtering into the way African women's sexuality is represented. A second concern: generally, sexuality continues to be automatically linked to fertility and to heterosexuality. This is glaringly revealed in the journal titled The African Journal of Fertility, Sexuality, and Reproductive Health.
Important work has occurred in relation to homosexuality. Certain anthropologists have dealt with homoerotic patterns among African women and argue that, in dealing with same-sex relationships in pre-colonial Africa, it is important not to focus solely on sexuality. Ambiguous gender roles can often be a more important index of subjects' sexual orientation, so that the focus on sexuality often indicates distinctively western preoccupations. This must lead us to rethink the curious argument that homosexuality doesn't exist in Africa; instead we need to consider that homoerotic behaviours have been codified differently.
Seminal work has arisen in relation to Aids research, with new work containing a strong focus on masculinities, which remains a major under-researched area for African scholars. It should be noted that even prominent scholars like Mamdani, Mbembe and Appiah avoid dealing with masculinity in their discussion of militarism and other processes where gender plays a crucial role.
Studies of religion and education have been linked to studies of the state as a repressive ideological instrument. Studies of education often reveal that post-colonial expansionist educational policies have benefitted women very little. This is the alarming conclusion of scholars in all contexts. In work on religion, for example by scholars from Egypt and Algeria, there is a focus on the extent to which Muslim women have drawn on Islam to critique patriarchal tendencies in Islamic state formation. This is important in the face of charges that feminists' religious affiliations often lead to a watering down of their politics when they engage religious argument.
2.1.7 Life History, Biography and Autobiography
Impressive in this field is the
wealth of biographies written by Nigerian women about Nigerian women, as well
as a wealth of autobiographical narratives by black South African women. It
is highly likely that traditions of personal narrative are flourishing in other
contexts and have not yet been exposed to a wide audience. African women's personal
narratives expand traditions of analysis of women's experiences, particularly
conventional scholarly interpretations of African women's experiences. Many
of these narratives do not use conventional scholarly styles or methodologies,
yet raise provocative insights into neglected areas of women's domestic, personal
and social lives. Moreover, biography and autobiography written by African women
about African women are key ways in which women have intervened into masculinist
postcolonial cultures. These narratives intervene into the public sphere and
indicate women redefining what it means to be African. It is important to bear
in mind how hegemonic male-centered nationalism has been, and to appreciate
the far-reaching impact of these interventions.
In considering the political force of biography and life history, it is important
to distinguish between life history when used as a methodological instrument
in historical research (often located in the west), and biographies concerned
mainly with individual women's narratives. The latter often underplay African
women's voices and agency for the purpose of making historical and general points.
The latter indicate African women developing independent personal viewpoints
on historical and social experiences that have affected their everyday lives.
2.1.8 Literary and Cultural Studies
A review of different fields indicates that African feminist scholarship from the mid-nineties has been going through a major theoretical shift involving the prioritising of different disciplines from those that were dominant in the eighties. In research between the early 80s and 90s the dominant disciplines in scholarship across the board were anthropology and as economics. Increasingly, scholars are now drawing on the tools and theories that have emanated from literary studies. Here they have stressed such areas as discourse, representation and subjectivity to develop fresh insights into women's political expression, into the different levels of power that affect the identities of men and women, and into the range of fields that simultaneous affect women's experiences in relation to politics, work and so on. An interesting example of the use of postructuralism for the purpose of expanding insights into power is Azza Karam's book on women and the state in Egypt . She draws extensively on Foucault's work to explore the Egyptian state as a gendered institution which sets in place a hegemonic gendered culture. In this way she acknowledges the complexity and multiplicity of "power"; ceases to be seen in terms of one level or one aspect of control. Much other recent work on women and the state has been concerned with this kind of complexity.
The discussions highlighted the point
that African scholars are seldom able to access African work. Participants noted
the importance of both the bibliography and the essay, constituting the most
comprehensive work available on the subject to date. The author was commended
for her comprehensive work.
The discussion generated a number of suggestions, which would serve to enrich
the study and pick up on current trends as they are developing on the continent.
The political nature of knowledge production was discussed with regards to whose
knowledge serves whose interests. Participants felt it would be useful to engage
more closely with knowledge production other third world contexts, which has
great relevance to African work. Studies done in the postcolonial contexts of
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean were cited. Several additional themes
emerged as being important to pursue: women and citizenship, land and power,
women writing on sexuality, care-giving and the role of the state and women's
experiences in parliament.
An important gap was identified in the essay's treatment of labour and the economy.
Although this has been the richest field for GWS in Africa, the essay did not
clearly indicate an especially voluminous concentration of work in this field.
2.2 Panel Discussion: Linkages and Networks - Teaching, Research and Activism
The Chairperson of the session, Amanda Gouws introduced the four panelists who were to set the tone for discussion on linkages and networking. The panelists, Dr Sylvia Tamale, Department of Law, Makerere University; Prof Takyiwaa Manuh, Institute of Africa Studies, University of Ghana, Ruth Ochieng, Director of Isis - Wicce; Natasha Primo of Women's Net, were invited to explore the potential and manner in which networking can strengthen the connections between teaching, research and activism in Africa.
In synthesizing at the end of the day, Dr McFadden raised critical issues in relation to the panel presentations and the discussions on Networking.
2.2.1 LINKAGES AND NETWORKS IN UGANDA
SYLVIA TAMALE
The under-utilisation of gender experts was the first issue raised in this presentation. Dr Tamale said that in Uganda, a few core gender studies teachers were overstretched by the demands coming from various sectors while gender scholars like herself were not being used to their capacity. This could be done through course teaching, faculty associations and inviting guest lecturers from outside the department.
Studies that have been done are not widely distributed and there is also little recognition of the need for inter or transdisciplinary work. In Uganda there are almost no linkages between researchers, teachers and activists. Very few people see all three elements interlinking this greatly limits impact.
Student political activism is almost non-existent at universities. There is a new trend among student towards associations based on ethnic identity, which tends to shift the focus to cultural practices that reinforce the marginalisation of women. At Makerere there was an attempt to form a student feminist lobby which was thwarted by the administration. Gender studies students have formed an association, which is dominated by men and lacks a feminist agenda.
Co-optation of women's organisations hampers linkages. Women's rights activists are bought off by government in the sense that they often end up becoming leaders bureaucratic organisations and so being co-opted into the existing power structures. Such co-optation exacerbates women activists' tenuous linkages by alienating women leaders from other actors. Prominent leaders of women's organisations openly declare their organisations to be non-political NGOs, thus attempting the impossible - avoiding politics when women's subordination is a political issue.
Dr Tamale concluded that since the ideal situation of the three components of teacher, researcher and activist in one person was rare, we should aim at building bridges. Graduate work should be strengthened by making research and activism an integral part of the curricula through outreach programmes, e.g. public education through media interventions, creating websites.
Activities that will make issues of gender and equity constantly visible in society must be pursued (public dialogue, parliamentary hearings, electronic and print media, test court cases, online postings and publications, etc). Information and public service must be offered to schools, other institutions of high learning, government agencies and NGOs and the general public to address the relevance of gender and feminism. The geronocratic tendencies of older people keeping out the young must be guarded against by providing space for energetic young men and women to play an active role in the women's movement. Lastly, there is an urgent need for strong mentoring programmes for young people and this should not be neglected.
By effectively forging these linkages the necessary support will be created to sustain the women's movement as a political agenda. Such linkages are a vital part to praxis - a reconceptualisation of the relationship between theory and practice in the women's movement.
2.2.2 DEVELOPMENTAL WOMEN'S STUDIES (DAWS) PROGRAMME
TAKYIWAA MANUH
The DAWS programme was started in 1989 and is based at the Institute for African Studies at the University at Ghana. The teachers are drawn from different faculties and also from outside the university. The objectives of DAWS is to establish women's studies as a field of study and inquiry within the academy, to conduct applied research to meet the needs of women, to document life stories of Ghanaian women and to serve as a bridge between the academy and activism.
Over the years, DAWS has held seminars and conferences and developed two teaching courses. DAWS is located within the institute on the basis of its being a programme rather than a section of the institute. The institute is divided into various sections but DAWS has resisted pressure to becoming another section of the institute, as this would jeopardise its current flexibility in using the services of teachers other than those working at the university.
Although some resources are provided by the university and students do national service with the programme, it has no budget and has relied on resources from university link arrangements. DAWS' two graduate courses are the most popular of elected courses in the institute and they are open to outsiders. Students doing gender at other university departments are directed to DAWS for assistance.
The programme has had several long links with UK universities through the British Council as well as a link with Michigan, working on women's health in Accra. Members of DAWS work actively with the women's movement in Ghana. Prof . Takyiwaa is the board chair of the West African office of Abantu and the office has also worked with the Gender and Women's Rights Documentation Centre on gender violence. There were more than 30 serial killings of women in Accra last year and DAWS joined others in forming the organisation, Sisters Keepers, which is dedicated to this killing campaign. Through its participation in work on the national machinery co-ordinated by the Third World Network and in Netright, a coalition on women's rights in Ghana, DAWS has also, under the auspices of Netright, held a seminar critiquing the government's plan to join highly indebted countries initiative - pointing out what would be needed to truly engender poverty eradication in the country. Men are members of DAWS and Netright but they are in the minority.
Without much by way of resources
from the university, DAWS operates on the energy of a few key individuals. Burnout
is a major problem and together with the absence of key individuals from time
to time, DAWS' activities have been uneven. Lately links have produced a number
of new PhDs, which will strengthen teaching capacity but long-term sustainability
remains a worrying issue. Four courses have been designed but more staff members
are needed to run them.
The lack of activism around the campus is a cause for concern. In order to reach
beyond the classroom, DAWS is using a radio programme on the campus radio station
to raise issues such as the victories of past struggles. The future of the programme
probably lies in a separate campus-based centre for GWS, thereby maintaining
its current diversity of participation. DAWS is also exploring other mechanisms,
such as Saturday morning meetings, for teaching and information sharing activities
in order to address the uneven information situation.
RUTH OCHIENG
Bringing women in different sectors together to speak as a group is part and parcel of Isis-Wicce's strategy. Ruth Ochieng suggested that identifying appropriate communication mechanisms was vital in creating linkages and networking. Some of the missing ingredients are visibility, manipulation of knowledge and producing herstories. ICT literacy is a major stumbling block in overcoming the isolation of gender activists.
Ochieng said her work as a communication
specialist was enhanced through collaboration with specialists who know how
to make gender content visible through ICTs. Many networking, access and repackaging
problems can also be addressed through ICTs.
Isis-Wicce documentation activities have two objectives: to produce authentic
material and to influence policy. For this reason, various experts are routinely
involved by communicators. As a result of the organisation's approach to mental
health publicity, mental health has become one of Uganda's five-year plan priorities.
ICTs cater for people with different levels of technological skills and Internet access, even for reaching at grassroots level. It is also time to put in place mechanisms to demystify the content that is already on the Internet and strengthen the representation of African women. The most urgent task though is for academics to become ICT literate and learn how to interface with the technology. Gender experts cannot outsource certain tasks, such as data analysis, to other specialists.
2.2.4 STRENGTHENING GENDER STUDIES USING ICTS
NATASHA PRIMO
In any project it is important to consider what are the most appropriate vehicles for spreading information. In Africa the uptake of ICTs and platforms for spreading information lag behind availability in other parts of world.
Primo drew on the example of the work of Women'sNet, an information project that seeks to make accessible information that is relevant for women's development and gender justice in South Africa. Typically it may publish (on the internet) information concerning violence against women or gender and governance. The idea is not that everybody will have access to this information on the Internet but that it can be accessed by a gender organisation who will repackage it for people on the ground or the communities they target.
In the quest to spread relevant information, serious thought has to be given to whether one intends targeting rural women, whose main means of access is radio. Bridges then have to be built between radio technology and radio stations and the Internet. Women'sNet, has trained women's organisations to make radio programmes and target information for radio consumption and dissemination. In the process it has also provided gender awareness training for radio personnel, in the sense of creating an awareness of the extent to which they cover or don't cover gender issues.
What kinds of products can be developed to facilitate better links between African feminists and - given the limited resources on the continent - how can access to GWS across the continent be maximised? GWS brings with it implied life skills and enables connections in communities that are useful for social transformation and promoting desirable values. There is a need to address the shortage of available gender resources and to improve access to the limited resources that are available. Better ICT linkages with the global community of gender activists is another issue, as is fluency in ICTs for African gender activists.
In the quest to connect gender academics and to create linkages with activists in the development sector, the following questions must be considered:
Primo said the process of creating the two products suggested by the AGI - the online journal and gender studies course - could also include collaborative processes in learning to use ICTs, thus contributing to the achievement of ease of use and participation by all.
In the exploration of linkages and
networks the discussion addressed the following salient issues. It was felt
that GWS teachers have demonstrated that they can transcend disciplinary boundaries,
yet at the same time they often create boundaries in their work. Within Uganda
it was clear that there was limited triangulation between teachers, researchers
and activists as opposed to Ghana where people working in the gender field met
regularly and participated in a rich exchange and interchange of information.
Activists and academics need to interrogate the territoriality that goes with
their fields and the kinds of resources needed to invest in meaningful linkages
in attempting to close the gap between academics and the broader community.
This would entail demystifying the notion of knowledge and helping the general
public to see themselves as knowledge producers. Creative solutions were needed
to facilitate and maintain these links.
2.3 Linkages and Networks: Implications for Teaching and Research Agenda
The panel discussion paved the way for groups of mixed composition to concretely tackle the issue of networks through an assessment of what kinds of networks and linkages exist and what contributes to the success of a network. In looking to the future, participants were asked to envision what linkages were desirable for GWS and how can continental networking be deepened.
Groups reported back in plenary and discussion surfaced some of the critical issues pertaining to networking.
What kind of networks and linkages exist?
Workshop participants identified various networks ranging from those that operate at a regional and national level, those organised around themes that work and share information on this basis, networks based on technology were also identified. At one level, linkages were seen to be sustained and strengthened through efficient marketing, the facilitation and transparency of activities. At another they could be sustained by information sharing and engagement in workshops and newsletters; the use of ICTs to maintain contact as well as regular face-to-face meetings.
Participants identified diverse networks working in the areas of training, research, advocacy, capacity building and civic education, as well as electronic networks supporting ICTs. Examples of networks that worked continentally, regionally, sub regionally and locally were discussed. (see appendix 1)
What has succeeded and what has failed?
Some of the qualities identified
for a successful network were identified as commitment to the network by members,
adequate resources and capacity to sustain network activities, an institutional
home, a safe space for engagement, truthfulness and transparency; collaborative
ownership and a sensitivity to newcomers; patience to allow the network to grow
and take shape coupled with a strong long-term vision. Further, it was felt
that success is measured by people receiving information and having equal access
to information; impact on policy change; continuity and growth; with a key output
being members contributing to the empowerment of each other.
What kinds of linkages are desirable?
Within Africa, continental as well as sub-regional and local networks were said to be weak, yet vital. Linkages are needed between activists, teachers and researchers that support critical self-reflection and that facilitate interaction across "boundaries", i.e. disciplines, cultures, languages, etc as well as an integration of forms of communication - electronic and physical (e.g. theatre for development, radio, print etc).
How can continental networking be deepened?
It was felt that regional networking was meaningless if local networking was weak. The lessons regarding successes and failures of networks need to be taken cognisance of in exploring the possibility of deepening continental networking. It was felt that responsibilities, for example, rotation in the running of the network or the securing of funding should be shared and properly resourced. The integration of ICTs could enhance reciprocal information sharing, but needed to be supplemented by skills sharing, face-to-face meetings or annual workshops.
Overall, the session facilitated a deepening of discussion and a critical reflection on networking. The emergence of this critical perspective on networking moved the discussion beyond networking for networking's sake to a conceptualization of networks which are targeted, clear in definition and realistic in terms of tasks objectives and activities that can be undertaken and accomplished.
Participants shared a felt need for
a specific network for GWS in order to facilitate access to
information for teaching and regular exchanges of ideas. The problem of over-commitment
and its implications for network activity were highlighted and it was felt that
these should be dealt with honestly and transparently if positive outputs were
to be expected.
Strategic Agenda for Action
The Chair of the session, Zenebeworke Tadesse opened the day, noting that the time had come for some more concrete engagement. The ensuing plenary discussion was devoted to the development of a provisional agenda for action. The discussion addressed three main areas of activity that would strengthen GWS in Africa:
3.1 Strengthening GWS Teaching by linking it to research and activism
Teaching was discussed as a political practice, which has been undertaken as a form of activism by many working in GWS. This was seen to reflect the fact that ever since independence, African academics have contributed their skills to regional and national development needs, and that feminist scholars, having chosen to focus on the pursuit of gender justice and equality between women and men, are therefore merely part of this tradition of socially responsible scholarship.
The draft bibliography and review essay that the AGI had already produced was highly commended. Participants felt that it indicated the value of continuing engagement between research and teaching, and the need for further work to be carried out, so as to provide teachers with the resources they need to develop African-focused and transformative teaching, and to link this to the concerns and interests articulated by African women's movements, and to contemporary legal and policy experiences. The following areas were identified for such work:
It was clear to all concerned that
the difficulties of accessing and disseminating contemporary African research
has been a major constraint in the ongoing efforts towards the development of
African-focused gender studies. Access to research and resources in all of these
areas (and some areas not listed here) was deemed to be of central importance
in the development of relevant teaching. There was a strongly felt need for
ongoing regionally-focused dialogue and debate in all areas of teaching and
research, as this would offer valuable opportunities to pool resources, enrich
and strengthen the ongoing work in the field. This led to a discussion of the
ways in which ICT's could be used to advance this goal.
3.2 Using ICT's to Strengthen African GWS
3.2.1 TRAINING AND CAPACITY-BUILDING NEEDS
During the workshop it had become evident that participants have different levels of computer and ICT literacy, and that not being competent disadvantages both teachers and researchers in numerous ways. Various training and capacity needs were identified in discussion. These included:
The various possible uses of the
internet for teaching were explained briefly by Natasha Primo of Women'snet.
She drew attention to the patterns of inclusion and exclusion associated with
all electronic technologies, noting that feminists, particularly those working
in African contexts, were concerned to make use of ICT's in ways that counter
the digital divide. The possibilities opened up by the new technology could
revolutionise all forms of teaching. At its most basic, ICT's offer the possibility
of posting course outlines and reading lists on websites, and sending materials
to students by email. Bulletin boards and chat rooms can be created to enable
students and teachers to engage in virtual interactions, as an alternative to
actual meetings and seminars. It was observed that very few of the participants
present at the workshop had any experience of on-line learning or teaching.
It was noted that while the possibilities for online teaching of students were
exciting, a prior concern would be to ensure that teachers gain sufficient familiarity
with these tools, and that they do this by using them to support and strengthen
their own research, teaching and curriculum development work. Within the existing
scenario, online course presentation was still some years down the line for
most GWS teachers in African institutions, but should be taken seriously, either
as distance learning, or in combination with present teaching and research methods.
3.3. Developing Linkages and Networks
Participants agreed to form a continental GWS network, to be comprised of teachers and researchers working with feminist perspectives, and rooted in the day-to-day work of its participants. This network was envisaged as offering a valuable way of retaining the autonomy of the thinking behind GWS, and attending to the ongoing professional needs of its members. Its purpose would be to enhance the effectiveness of GWS teachers, researchers and activists, using electronic tools in combination with other networking strategies.
The preliminary exploration of various aspects of the network will be taken further in a LISTSERV discussion. Participants need to anticipate be prepared to inform discussion around decisions needed on the following:
It was felt that membership of the network should initially consist of all the women invited to the workshop, with membership gradually and strategically being extended to other African gender teachers, researchers and activists working with a feminist perspective. After some discussion, it was agreed that it should not initially include other communities (men, European and American scholars and other groups not in attendance), although the products and resources produced by the network would be made available to a wider public, once they were completed. The model proposed was one of carefully managed concentric circles, with an inner advisory group, an secondary circle of members, and outer circles of wider groups of colleagues and other consumers of the networks efforts. This was seen to have major implications for the ICT strategy, which would need to include both closed and public spaces for different aspects of the networking.
The GWS workshop began a process
of bringing more coherence to the scattered community of African gender scholars
and it demonstrated the potential for ongoing engagement and co-operation between
participants. Participants shared a great deal of important information about
their programmes, how they work, institutional experiences and some of the learning
experiences in the history of the various GWS departments and units. The discussion
suggested a need for ongoing critical engagement with teaching content.
Prof Amina Mama thanked participants for their critical and active participation
and pointed to the possibility of further exploration and deepening of the engagements
at subsequent curriculum workshops. She acknowledged the excellent suggestions
made for bibliographies to deepen interrogation in particular key areas, which
will be considered in commissioning further work. She observed that the discussions
revealed that there are different scenarios in the levels of engagement between
research, teaching and activism in different countries. Good models emerged
where all three activities were merged, Ghana being a strong example of this.
There were also many examples indicating that communication was not taking place
and that othering and patterns of silencing still played a role in this regard.
How to keep different professional identities together effectively was seen
to be an ongoing process and challenge.
Prof Mama concluded by noting the success of the workshop - the pleasure of
meeting and getting to know colleagues, and the strength that could be drawn
from knowing that there are so many dynamic and stimulating African women working
in GWS at locations all over the continent. The gathering was commended for
putting in three days of constructive engagement, during which they had succeeded
in putting together the beginnings of an agenda for action. Prof Mama acknowledged
how much she had personally learnt from the experience of the workshop, and
hoped that every participant shared this, and would leave feeling re-energised,
and full of new ideas about what they could do to strengthen their work at their
own particular locations. In this sense, she suggested that the workshop had
been of value in its own right, even if there were no follow-up events.
Prof Mama also noted that the workshop had generated many suggestions for future events and activities, and that while the AGI might be able to take up the implementation of some of these, it was important that others also took it upon themselves to carry the work of strengthening GWS forward, in whichever ways they could. She suggested that efforts to pursue GWS in African contexts should be targeting national institutions as well as international agencies for resources, noting that national institutions have a responsibility to support the advance of gender equality. At present, African institutions often prefer to leave everything to do with gender to international agencies, so that they can continue to ignore local gender struggles and resist treating the liberation of women as a central aspect of Africa's social transformation and democratization, only to turn around and argue that gender studies and gender struggles are somehow foreign to Africa.
More specifically, she noted that
there were some recommendations that the AGI could take on almost immediately,
thanks to the existing support being given to the AGI's continental work by
the Ford Foundation. These included the electronic and hard copy publishing
of the teaching resources, beginning with the review essay and bibliography
that this workshop had now contributed to, and perhaps ultimately establishing
an electronic journal. The AGI could also initiate the establishment of a regional
network of scholars, researchers and ICT activists, initially by establishing
a listserv for discussion and development of the initial idea, and setting up
a dedicated GWS web-site hosted at the AGI. With regard to the curriculum development
aspects of the deliberations, the AGI would pursue the matter of designing and
organizing further curriculum development and ICT training events. Mama observed
that these were all good ideas, but that the successful execution any of them
would depend on the degree to which people shared the responsibility and contributed
their time and talent. She expressed her view that ultimately this would rest
upon the extent to which we came to view ourselves as an intellectual community
with the common agenda of strengthening GWS, in the direction of ensuring that
we would all continue to contribute meaningfully to Africa's transformation
into a more peaceful, just and equitable region.
She closed the workshop by thanking all participants, the staff of the AGI who
had worked hard to ensure that the workshop ran smoothly and pleasantly, the
staff of the President Hotel for delivering an excellent service, the AGI international
advisory board members who had stayed in Cape Town after the Board meeting to
participate in the workshop, and Hope Chigudu who had come from Harare to share
in the facilitation of the workshop process.
Appendix 1:
Examples of Networks in the Continent
| Name | Type of Network | Scope |
| Abantu for Development | Training, advocacy & capacity building | Continental |
| Amanitare | ||
| APC Africa Women | Electronic supporting ICTs | Continental |
| Association for Women in Development (AWID) | Professional development & capacity building | Global |
| Development Alternatives for Women in a New Era (DAWN) | Research, policy & advocacy | Global |
| Forum African Women Educationalists | Emphasis on girls education in Africa | Continental |
| Gender in African Information (GAIN) | Electronic information | Continental |
| International Network on Reproductive Health | Policy & advocacy | Global |
| Isis - Wicce | ||
| Nigerian Women's Research Network | Research support | |
| Sexual Harassment in Southern African Tertiary Institutions | Research & advocacy | Sub regional |
| Uganda Women Network | ||
| Violence Against Women in Conflict | ||
| Women and Law in Development in Africa (WiLDAF) | Research & advocacy | Continental |
| Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) | Legal Research | Sub regional |
| Women in Science and Technology | Professional Development | |
| Women's Action Group (WAG) | Civic Education Advocacy | National |
| Women's Network on Health | Policy & advocacy | |
| Women'sNet | ICTs | |
| Zimbabwe Women's Resource Centre | Information, research, | National |
Workshop Programme
Strengthening Gender and Women's
Studies in African Contexts
23rd - 25th January 2002
Cape Town
January 22nd
Arrivals and Registration
6.00pm - 8.00pm Welcome Reception and Opening Address
Guests of Honour: Professor Njabulo
Ndebele, UCT Vice Chancellor
Honourable Naledi Pandor, Member of Parliament
Honourable Pregs Govender, Member of Parliament
Professor Bolanle Awe
Professor Takyiwaa Manuh
January 23rd
Institutional and teaching capacity for GWS in Africa
8.45am - 9.00am Relaxation and Meditation
Led By: Di Womersley
SESSION ONE
Plenary Facilitators: Amina Mama
Hope Chigudu
9.00am - 10.00am Opening & Introductions
10.00am - 10.15am Refreshment Break
SESSION TWO
Plenary Facilitators: Hope Chigudu
Shereen Essof
10.15am - 11.15am Mapping Exercise: Country Profiles and Herstories
11.15am - 12.30pm Mapping Exercise: Report Back, Presentation of Country Profiles and Herstories Synthesis of Session: Takyiwaa Manuh
12.30pm - 2.00pm Lunch
SESSION THREE
Chairperson: Rudo Gaidzanwa
2.00pm - 3.30pm GWS Teaching Curriculum
and Rationales
3.30pm - 3.45pm Refreshment Break
SESSION FOUR
3.45pm - 4.30pm GWS Teaching Curriculum
and Rationales: Feed Back
Synthesis of Session: Chairperson
Key Challenges and Priorities for a Regional Teaching Agenda
Evening Meal in Hotel
January 24th
Institutional Resources for GWS in Africa
8. 45am - 9.00am Relaxation and Meditation
Recap of Day 1
SESSION FIVE
Chairperson: Bolanle Awe
9.00am - 9.30am African Gender Research
Presentation by: Desiree Lewis
9.30am - 10.30 Discussion and Sharing
of Concerns
10.30 - 10.45 Refreshment Break
SESSION SIX
Chairperson: Amanda Gouws
10.45am -12.30pm Linkages and Networks: Teaching, Research and Gender Activism
Panel Discussion: Sylvia Tamale,
Ruth Ochieng, Takyiwaa Manuh, Natasha Primo
12.30pm - 2.00pm Lunch
SESSION SEVEN
2.00pm - 3.30pm Linkages & Networks: Teaching, Research and Gender Activism
3.30pm - 3.45pm Refreshment Break
SESSION EIGHT
3.45pm - 4.30pm Reportback:: Implications
for Teaching and Research Agenda
Overall synthesis: Pat McFadden
7.00pm - 9.00pm Beach Walk
Social Evening
January 24th
Setting the agenda
8.00am - 8.15am Relaxation &
Meditation
Recap of Day 2
SESSION NINE
Chairperson: Zenebeworke Tadesse
8.15am - 9.45am Strategic Agenda for Action
9.45am - 10.00am Refreshment Break
SESSION TEN
Facilitators: Hope Chigudu & Amina Mama
10.00am - 11.15am Strategic Agenda for Action: Plenary Feedback
11.15am - 11.45am Overall Summing
Up and Closing Remarks:
Amina Mama
12.00 Closing Luncheon