It’s actually incredible how women got erased from the anti-colonial / nationalist histories and narratives of virtually every African country.
A few examples of what women actually did:
A few examples of what women actually did:
‘From 1958 to 1961, women in western Cameroon cast aside their regular domestic and agricultural duties to engage in a revolt against British administrative interference in agriculture.’ republic.com.ng
‘Women interfered with burial rituals, hurled insults at men in public and demanded the closing of schools, courts, and markets. They set up roadblocks, destroyed and burned property…’ republic.com.ng via @republicjournal
In South Africa, women led anti-pass campaigns as early as 1913-1918:
‘At that time, anti-colonial response through protest was gendered with women in particular leading bus boycotts and demonstrations against the application of pass laws to women.’ republic.com.ng
‘At that time, anti-colonial response through protest was gendered with women in particular leading bus boycotts and demonstrations against the application of pass laws to women.’ republic.com.ng
In Somalia, the female genre of poetry known as ‘buranbur’ was a socially acceptable means for women like Hawa Jibril to protest their grievances. Their poetry became especially politicized, as they articulated and spread nationalist consciousness. republic.com.ng
Women were also combatants. See Angola’s Irene Cohen and Deolinda Rodrigues. Two of five women who died during military combat in Angola’s independence war of 1961-74. republic.com.ng via @republicjournal
In Malawi, Vera Chirwa founded the League of Malawi Women to support her husband’s Malawi Congress Party. Both groups had a three-part vision to ‘get political prisoners out of detention, abolish the British federation and fight for independence.’ republic.com.ng
In southwest Nigeria, Egba women burnt buildings, descended on British native administrative centres such as courts, offices and jails, and publicly shamed native authority policemen—to protest colonial taxation. republic.com.ng via @republicjournal
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