Education research gender, education and development - A partially annotated and
selective bibliography - Education Research Paper No. 19, 1997, 250 p.
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Annotations - Sub-Saharan Africa
General
HAY, Margaret Jean & STICHTER, Sharon (eds.) (1995), African Women South of
the Sahara, Longman Group. Essex.
The main purpose of the book is to explore the range of variations in women's social
and political positions in sub-Saharan Africa, taking into account two important factors:
firstly, the great variety of traditional social arrangements; secondly, how historical
forces, for example, European colonial conquest in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, and Arab/Islamic penetration have influenced the contemporary
situation of women.
The material in the book is organized in such a way that it provides an overview on the
women of sub-Saharan Africa. It is an introductory interdisciplinary text, written from a
number of disciplines but set in a historical context.
The contributions by various writers are divided into three main topics, namely:
(i) African women in the economy
(ii) African women in society and culture
(iii) Women in politics and policy.
The first three chapters address the issue of African women in the economy by
describing the activities in which women engage themselves in both in urban and rural
areas. The activities are viewed in terms of production, distribution and reproduction.
This section provides: first, a summary of the impact of pre-colonial socio-economic
structures, colonial changes and post-colonial trends on contemporary women's work
and welfare; second, a discussion of contemporary variations in women's rural
economic roles and how they are attached to the world economy; thirdly, description of
various occupations of urban women in various cities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The next six chapters provide an investigation into the question of African women in
society and culture. This section deals with various factors, such as the changing