Women In Society
Courtesy of: African Women’s Charity Orgthe human condition of the woman under colonial domination, was one of the slave’s slave
(Pg 3)
In addition to this general enslavement of our peoples through colonialism, there were other practices of domination, exploitation, and oppression to which the men, in turn, subjected their women. Thus, the woman apart from all the suffering created or accentuated by imperialist domination, experienced forced marriage, permanent insecurity at home, repudiation, arbitrary divorce and premature old age without any guarantee whatsoever. This makes us believe that the human condition of the woman under colonial domination, was one of the slave’s slave.The African woman has participated everywhere in Africa in a conscious, constant and often decisive manner
(Pg 5)
Therefore, conscious of the fact that her social liberation necessarily came about through the liquidation of foreign domination, the African woman has participated everywhere in Africa in a conscious, constant and often decisive manner, in the anti-colonialist struggle and in the fight for national liberation. Today, she can proudly lay claim therefore, to part of this victory of the People of Africa over the forces of domination, oppression and exploitation. By engaging herself actively and courageously in the recapturing of national sovereignty, the Africa woman acquired the imprescriptible right of participating fully in the functioning of the sovereign State, the building of the new National as well as the rehabilitation and expansion of the People’s culture.She must not attack only that impeding her liberation, but that of her man also
(Pg 6)
But if this choice that we have made confers on the woman the absolute equality of rights, it entails for her a number of duties and obligations which must be respected to ensure that our political freedom becomes an effective instrument of our social liberation.For the woman’s action to become positive, she must not only attack the negative aspects restraining and still impeding her liberation but more particularly, bring about the creation of conditions of social equality between man and woman.The freedom of Africa must include the liberation of African women
(Pg 4)
Just as the struggle of African women cannot be waged and pursued outside the context of the struggle of our peoples for the liberation and emancipation of our continent, so the freedom of Africa cannot be effective if it does not lead, concretely, to the liberation of the women of Africa.But an indisputable truth is that, the freedom of people is not measured in terms of the rights acquired by a fraction of this people; it is valued through those acquired by the individual irrespective of his race, sex, religion, degree of learning or his fortune.The real value of independence resides in the production relationships and quality of practices it generates within society
(Pg 7)
Independence, for a country formerly colonized by the whites, does not mean the mere departure of the white representatives of regime of exploitation which, to all intents and purposes, has no race or nationality. The real value of independence resides in the production relationships and quality of practices it generates within society. True independence, one that will free both man and woman, is directly expressed by the liquidation of structures which have served as a base for the injustice of feudalism and colonization, and the no less unjust attitude of man towards his wife.