3 Sheroes and Villains: Conceptualizing Colonial and Contemporary Violence Against Women in Africa Amina Mama Volence aginst women hs bee ete once of he interns womeas oven ve he a two decades In many counts, eat {Buchan been taken up atthe mont sent an ned mandension ‘omens oporeson by ten, and Alea, in parc, wierpend oleae gant wonnen i naw pbb the ost dct and uneguocl Tanicsaion of womens oppesed sta To mot soci spe and beste vlence hae on cason proved pe eutage bt bys ‘creo wome's onganation and maemo to ke mee coneted dction Bu he dren manson of wolence tha an be conned ‘t gendere an she dive chracer of anivrene pei one i intel wh examples fom iret sae ofthe devlpang wor. For iste, the mont dante cgi the Cane were nial Coke by the common ocarene of ape the tien of whch had JE eons bn tei rp-co center ander ot ‘xecampagn and highly morse satu scons. Ox the in seon {tens an dry Sate ove bce eopandl at ese a eben SStape andi hs becn rape by green oil hatha ot proved Ske wrath of femiase, Aion tomers capaigon for thx par ave ico las movement bse, with nds od wee sad ak groupe Smpaiingaguiet geal tino cal marge, td be ge Sur peace! ven so, Acne have ben suprisingly recent om We iettig tod sox hrssnent, dete th prevaenee nthe eg ‘gt oth on pool nl able Me. The widespesd hess Sheroes and Wins 47 ‘ntnidation of wonea by powereie pobee and the overzealous inp entation of anion dees andes by itary Forces lv needs "hte incidents i illostate both the sve of the simation andthe ange of forms tht wera abe tls: Mah Nos wa lad in 1983 when her Kenyan husband, aided by | tthe men, gouged out Both her fs fr bess him dager an oot ‘has. In cour Mi ll poe the judge t en hee band to psa, since she would then be le alone to fend for Herc and bet Anais inher sat of Bines + Omfuly 1, 1991 soup of ale dens stacked the gi’ dosmitores I'S Kao secondary school in Kenys raping Seveny-one and lig + In 987, elv-ye-od Haw Abba, rom Nigeria ded fer a ing both logs aust, Hex hoband ad tacked er with ane fer fhe ad repented run aay fom hi. + In 1983, several thosind women were dein’ by the Zinabweon hort nd many of them subjected to Beating and the forms of suse ding “Operation Cle Un.” “These examples ave a manera inportan questions about she sd and cata mews which sve cos abou he social and econome incor which oblige many women to tolerate ie-teestening stustons, fin abou the Kind pla cinate whch empowers fica 0 pepe tte mass shuses apt omen om the sees of many Alan cites. Al ch Suatons fave istry to them, and mich ofthis essay is devoted to “xcratng th pat tracing the genalogy ofthe conditions which ster “sence sesinnt women, one ofthe mos palate fs of postcolonial Iie is mp view tthe prerlence of 50 many pericius forms of ge {ered violence denunds oth histccal and contemporary analysis. By ‘Kepei onr undetanding of moence against wsmen ding he epoch rompetiom, we wil be bees able to comprekend nd so to counteat the maple forms of vikence meted agaist women in postcoloial ‘Alican states today. pein te tao rope of ths analysis beease itis the common hot force txt males it posse to conser an area {slags an diese a he Asean etntnet a having neal tres hat tasted the boundaries of maton, cue, and geogahy. This eallecive [ean expvience-beng conquered bythe eaonizing powers brig Tuy sed teil sbjesed to nietesneeetary European ‘ac cer and its genet pols; being indoctrinated into allnae Eropean Ionia sates nd the snus ptersalsen ofthe ne egos dnd education syste and facing the eootineous ow of mate and an reaoarces fom Aiea fo Enrope-hae peste afexedall aspects ‘of social tua, pois, an exonmsic en postcolonial ian sates48 Aina Mane "The conons of women's lives in Europe and Mr at so ike since these wo regions have been inexcily bound topes a dyna of ‘roving ncqlcy since the dawn of colons. mera, therloe, Drovies an portant lene for stung the dynamic hat hve ot the rest conditions otto imply or pose homogcnety onthe divers His witha either rion butt ay ont # foundation wich may ist st Investigation of the species of particular contexts egin by examining the histor evdence which indicates that colon penetration was otha iolet and a gendered proces, which expt Decexitng social divin within Alcan culture Paying paroles Hin to gender, argue that the colonial penn saan ineraed vera ly of Alcan women to various forms of vnkence. Since the elaonsip hetweenEarope and Alia entaed fis subjection by Europe, may Be ‘worth to take a look at gender relations and gender wolence tthe Inperal source before airessng the genesis and perpetuation of gender ‘olen in colonial and posteolonil Aiea "The final part af this ey examines the forms of resistance that women have spestheaded indicating the stateges deployed by women in diferent Pats ofthe Aftcan continent and compari these ote Thc Woed {nd Westem feniistanivalence sugges “The Colonia ead airy tbe pil Soa ‘When insite back i oot in European istoy the io leat aod male dominated character ofthe ciation tat se to "ct lize” the Afecan continent emerges quite clearly. The history of gender Violence in Europe sss many quatons about Fuopean masculinity and ‘Bout the gender ideologies that by behind the emergence of today’s Enropean states, The misogynist character of that ascent polis eae can perhaps be most dagatically lasted with reference othe witeh- Imus and agaistions ofthe Mile Ags. es aow common knowledge shat oter«Tourhundse-yeae pesod (hom the fourteeath 10 the sere ‘ecnth century), several rion women were systematelydmembeed, isfigued, and torazed before being deowaed or buted lve (Cheset 1872, Mics 1986) Mies alo tes the example of 2 lavyer in Legig, Geran, wh personaly sentenced 2,000 women fo death inthe eure fis bighly succsfl ever Mace cece, doing theft century, the lot of European women was sp miserable hat in 1855 a certain Me Fito pat othe Eagish House of Commons thatthe nation shoul set maried women "no wsse than ‘omestic animale” (Dobach and Debs 1980) Wath the Inds! Revo lation and the development of capitals socal eltions, the European Serossnd Viline 1 wotking clases, parclaly women and che, were exploited in el roy that would satusqcrdy be perfected om Abcan saves and forced [thor inthe colons, Literature aod publ tecords inate that physical viskncechascteizedlasone between epen and. women 36 Well at Teeween ling and oprered eases and Between adel and cide ‘Women fromthe oppressed clases were sexual aswell 2 economialy exploited and many of those who mored 10 the cites found theses ‘hooting bewen he brothel and the poorboure. A geet ny Were founded up and deported in shiploads tthe New Wad clots where ap ‘ren rougher essence awaited thove who sored the passage Kis onic ‘cthe Europeans, ho came lor sacha patch eatin, evertbe less had the acy to pose a hero prvecors and upiters of women whe they ave inte colonies (Mies 1986). ‘A the diwof ipo, Europe was also giving shape vo and devel spi sai iolagles and practices. As fr back as the sxteeath cen {try Queen Elaabeth the “Virgin Ques" who tod for pry, itu, ad nites, nde sevcal serptst9 have Hack people emoved fom the Kingdom, he 1601 proclamation called for dhe banishment of "black ‘moore lar cette, the pedetalzaton of upper lass whice wom lnood was countepoted tan inferred constracion of blackness. Blick people were cst as hypetsewua, corp, and pathogen Bk ‘women atc seal fascination, and by the nineteenth ceny, ad ‘Some to fxr inthe white le prjche a2 mctaphoe for Aca, the dark sl unknown continent, wating tobe petted, cooquered, an esp. Tithe cine of Saari Baseman, whip ay "The Hoste Vem" was dis yo catalogued nd ha er geil dasected this dchumantation ws "atonal ta nls ntelonen then, under the guse of sc nc interes." "The oppression of women within Eaope had dict bearing on che teenment af women the colonies. MeClatock (19918) argues that Bish’ notorious Cantpious Dacnses Acts of 1864, 1865 and 186, Seapegoated women ats time when several key may dest ified fon the inp amis ha provoked eis in European masclis ye “Conte women were lated fe weskening the oops 0 atempts ‘were made to requsteprostinton, oth ip Britain and inthe colonies Te hardly neal to be pointed out tha legion of this sore peimanly sAfeted? women Tom the lower socal sats, not upper and’ idle ‘das women. Tn eighteenth: and ninetenth-centry Eueope, clas, race, and sexual insustis sted in concere eth one anther, generating ees inp til ecogy that wae tobe reflected in ll eect of oli lea, apd ‘Mima reste ofthe sujet peoples, This wast hae partic Implication for gendetclasions rendering Afcan women ore wlnerse {Che vckoce emanating fom both Faropean aed Afncas sources.50 Armin Moms Raced Soi the Coes “The deelopmentofegiisiecontos over rations between European sven na Afan women ids the contradictory sexual of ier Imes, sealed as it was on the twin boro ofthe dilemma that resulted om simultaneous desire at conten. eal indexes the sty degradation of Alcan women’s arbed sit under colonial ees. In ‘he curly period, trating another rltons beeween European ten and Altice followed the nal contact between the spective ci ‘The niacteenthcenturyinution of sgt" andthe siguifian ters of eral cohabitation and marages found along te West Coast ff Alsen point 1 the existence of = geet many eatonshps between French inerchants and Alban women aug the etl pots of ese sons hare nt ben the subject of mich dseusson “The Bits pear to have a amore pasta ate toward itea= sia unions. This reflected in the 1909 “concubmage ical” which impose penalties on Bish men for having sex wth Alcan women. In TBE, Lond Lagar the goremor gener of Niger, tacts sted Secret Grcule Bo" which equated miscegeation with bestalty.® Mawtige to ‘cam wonnen was mide taboo m other prt of Alaa, fo In 1908, the ‘Germans contonted withthe so-called “hated ple?” io the terctory that was to become Nani, oad marnage to Aan women, wie at the same time, encouraging poston apd concasnage In 1907, they ‘eclarod suarages contacted before that date toe ml and wid dt 1908, setoactivated thi principe to disposes all the offing of wach ions in onder to exc them frm the possblsy of caning thie ‘German fee's cicenshi or aheiting propery and land inthe Fathead (ies 1986), ‘On the oer hand twas ne uncommon foe the colonies to engine prostitton services fr their troop, that dec dss for lal women {ould be sated in ways wich bd ot ndermine the rail stats-quo Tle 1989), ith some even going a0 Les to reser eran women "Yor white nen on Te would secm fom this discussion that the legal stats of Aion women was steadily degrada av inperiaism advanced, consobdatng ‘taro and racist gender ales which commosied Afian wen by ncouraging prostitution but oatlwing the contact of leptimate mar fages between white men and black women. West se that chese ends ‘veze coated by clonal tates which east all Afcan women in uban treason “proces” and subjected them to periodic waves of vitiniza- fon and fatassment, wie, athe same time, erating conditions th tae the umerous sevice pons by ramen indspensable othe ol raed sale workforce Serta Vie / ‘he Coli Sten Volo tard Wee ape appeats to ve een sequent accompaniment to miliary eon quer and wae 3 fvored means of esi the defeat apse of ave nations: Unfortunatly, the strc record has been very Scant on {hs abject Even othe ied evidence thats aval suggest that se ‘nl volnc was an steal part colonization Fanon (1980) nots the Ink between conquest of land and peoples and the votion of wore a Hink which hap subsequent Been Hemi 3 Characterang colonial erature ofthe Rider Hagan! gewe (tte 1989), ‘ovonding eo both, the colonied woman Becomes assoitd the mid ‘the European wh fantasies of ape ad despoltion Sock sas ee fase by the inacceley of Toe! women (i Msn ae), but mae ‘wie fanton sv 4 metaphor for eonguest of Aan Inds ad he hurl tion of people. "The huh ely of conquest in Aca indeed widespresd vost and egedtion of Alcan women. Wheze hee was eesistance, pe and seal thse were ftom omen ad the tae estibent wa ted Ut {he wives, nother daughter and sites of ren who were suspected of bang menu ofthe renstance movement snl to hunt he, “The we of volt eng a wows European arp To eush the rationale movements a many par of Acs ao demonstates the inade- Igcyofyende-oa)" analy To inp the nate of eslnition and the wolence shat t deployed sas anthe istance of ml ikence to tlscre the al chatter of pes a the ternal eontations Iaeso sscesly exploited In many pars ofthe continent, colonial regimes inet oa the frie induction of waged: and migeanbor sate, sought to reste the Imorement of Alfa womens who were expected ¢o remain inthe al fen and continue a engage use prison we te mente ‘reeled the nines and towns, Nonetblss, women ao mested Yo ‘he towns toca money by providing support series eer woe aban ‘done homesteads tht wer then dene, Sil other a women hare ‘done ghout te age move aay oenape von mariage urge Simpy gata sar of ew ways of ing. Whatever the ease, womens Inoved fo the towns in tnge numbers ad a they were exthded frome tnage-wott inthe femal sector, ound ianoitve ways fing on hem. {pes of colonial socey ands economy” Tacking any dea ply o¢ ay rel weds the coli sate demon strated conte ad contractory atitudes towatd Afncan women. For tan, Schnie(991) note het av colonial Zimbabwe, ofc studs toward Aitan women wer ren worse han those toward men, appary Ieee wie men wre seus receptine of European es,” WOEtended 10 “lng ool superstitions the ol customs theo methods” ‘She fuer nots that Ain momen ere said to weld inense power vec mens hat woes sex demands were tensed tobe the eecrtmert of mento work forthe colonies Ceri, the presence ff women in the colon owe was viewed wth mee suspicion Meavures taken to femowe women from dhe wlan eas incaded pec Foun-upe and forcible deportations, often cad out withthe connivance (Felden Alcan men, who fle strate by wha they saa fs of Control over the howtesteade. For example i 1915, the Bash colonia ices atempted to restict te mane fice women” in the Nigerian ‘iy of Kain, proposing that those within the cy wal be sven seven {livs to many whe hove define x prsttes be dave awa. Sia, in Kenya, duting the 1940s, local cous passed such oddly mamed me Ses athe "Lox Woonen Gcinane,” whic sought ont the movement Dfseomento the owns ‘Ween, for tee pare, waged ntrmittene struggles aginst the Tosses of power that they experienced, To ote only two examples ont of 2 great Iman tht cured aro the continent, in Eastern Nei, women tose tp peso thehout he 12s ores she soduction of range of measures whch they sar undermining ele hts (Van Aen 1972, [inane 1987), The colonial state responded to the Wonven’ War with rilitay aon, king st least Bly women, In Western Nigeria, women ganized agaist colonial ppoited chi and ote some of she le ‘rho Beate too autocratic (a 1982) ‘So far this cussion has manly addsessed te vient eatmene meted ont to Alcan women by a colo ate which excluded wemen rm ll, Folial and admintrative tracers and fom the wage economy that was Fiplysupersedag pecoinil modes of peodution. Bo i ao woth hoting that overt videnc, ining widespead abuse of women andthe reinforcement of che interts of le despots by the clonal epie a8 fot the whole picture, Thee wats the seemunly “benevolent” side of eto! pasiachy, side which sought Yo “domestiene™ and 5, to neo pote stall but significant number of Aldean women. There i now 2 Sibstetia erase adstng the ways in which the colonizers into tice bourgeois Vitoria ideology of domestic ito Aes, Whe the ‘rat mjonty of Afean women gained no acces 10 eduction at all norway inte to ace the races of “ize” emt, namely, {0 be schooled in enbwonery, cake decoration, and flower aranging, The purpose was to tum these worn nto stable wives for those Afpean men ‘tho penned adiistative roles in the colonial state. Much of this Indoctaation was undertaken by wellinentioned. European women [nivopelogbts,misiares and teacher ho set out forthe Alan ints 1 educate and "op the natves™ Ht (1990) documents the ‘heroes and Villas / 53 sciis of Le Foyer Scie» sci inttution specially designed bythe Felpans to ceatea sal nde of ete Congolese housewives. Thee colb- Maly consavted “mew orca were to sy at home a Kec howe {he tl umber of Aean me ithe employ of the clonal ene” Tike her cas sedoge, domesticay has fected even those who wee Pot pt ofthe elt hat actualy Beene Furoeatstle bowsewies. The ‘ominance of the wiesad-noter Heal an Sel which negated women’ ‘ocaland economic eonteuton fatal the devaluation of thei wok thin dhe elon economy. Thadiion to perpetting rue nd overt cts of vence against Aca women then, te cation proces abo tanlormed Aican ge ‘Sons complen, ives, and contactor ays that we have yet Understand. We now know that thse eensformtins, ad che dynamic erween the colonial repie and dhe eslnized society, ated acs soci {Gauche mast lo Rave ie nat aco othe chaser fg ‘Erectaony nthe exiting oes pots ad the a pobticaland economse powers that women had bee ale to obi [ee of thee genes, revaling ger seoogies have nach beating ot {he per of wolence hat ae ranted nae context. The confinement Stravmen t the economy dependent ole of housewife onion thor as ade tifa for nsny women to eave otherwise wnbestbl io Kent sitetions In tier words the domesticnian of women sa precoa tin forthe eine we define a¢ domestic molence, Sis, the power to occa, and harass th wide by och and en in oom ia eutonl soci iss eoition forthe widespread ape an abuse of swomen tat occu under repressive egies since ths power i sanctioned Tp, egjoun, oe oter male-dominated authoci. Agican Nationalst Movements and the Gender Quesion Ii as we have seen, colonia bualzed, degrade, nd domesticated [Arcan women to what extent have the tional movements allen se shoygnnts od sewaly contactor legac of the white masters? Hive Alfian women experienced grater iberation sac the demise of ‘Colonial repines or have the natonalts ered ontinned te eaetois Steontempt and diempowrsimen? What as een the rle of wore ia Shcimpesli snes, and hv kas this flected tei postion in pos Solna? ‘Anne Minos wsefly reminds us ofthe gendeted and continuously onesie acter of ations when se writes All nstionalsn ve gered are invest and ale danger uns They epee eations € poled power and o the rs$4 6 Ais Moma ecologies of violence .. linings oF lining, people's ces to the tights and resources of the mon-stte tintock 19919). ‘The foregoing discussion of rape and conquest indicates that colin also humiliated women, ot only as ealonal subject bu lon ender Specie ways. Mican nationalist dcournes have often proclaed the eed co recover the damaged mahod ofthe Aftsan man, CyahisEaloe (4989) points tothe masculinity of many nationale dacoures atthe explosion of male hulaion by ibertion movemess; she ientes this 2 source of male bas in ererget rations. Bat to what extent hate Arian men been concemed wih estorng the digit of Aca waren? Ie snow amply documented that women, who were completely excluded fom the colonial administrative ara polial stature, nly pati pated inthe nationalist movements a8 fighters and party activi, Ano many occasions, they took independent action i defense of thei own, Sil today, women protest the betrayal of women’s ness by the nation-states cng Alenia and Zanbabwe ay instances in whic me have reneged on this promis to shat theft of ndependenee But jnempscal basi for this Sease of baeayal? An examination of gen der relations within nationalist dicourses may deepen our understanding fof the sources of present-day inequalities tn enable move elective Fesponss than abgty polemics agate the men who hive monopaicd Power for themselves. What then, were the terms on which women patic= inated in these resistance struggles? Techape the poor states ofthe vast ‘majority of worn in posteolonil Afican counts canbe taced Go the ‘ers of his putipation! “The constctios of women in nations idcloges have been sonta> sictory: On the one band nationalists have called for thie own “new woman,” while on theater hand he have consteved women the bese ‘es and wpholders of wadtons and cartoms testis f alae ya {ren maty coatedts, the terms on which women patted in aaionalist Strugeles have simply not ben comments wth fundarental changes ih tender rations. The appearance of haces: women on the sets a Egypt Sutng the 1920s ro protest gaint he Brith may have Been welcomed by al supporters of sional iberaton, batt didnot teats male tes towards women. Some time ltt, when the Wale Party dapreed with women on key politcal issues Huds Shaw and other women bok :eay to oem the Egyptian Fen Union, which ns only tokemot ad {al postion ona numberof Key plc snes tse defended wotnen's lrests Sharan 1986, adian 1988). "Natoma iteration movements sich a5 the Nkrumah CPF, skhough radial when it came to estabshing hegemony over tational ee cn ot be destibed ws popounding 2 ral gender pols, ever though the ovement derived enoemodssuppot fom Woweh's ganizations. Foal his evohrionry vision, Kwame Nieumah was unaie 10 riew women heyond their reductive snd marr role. He ceed to wome “Mothers ofthe ation, the beauty that raced the homes and the ei es hat soothed mets temper (kata 1989), Many of the nants ‘ho inheted power on the colonial astra were very conserve ‘wheat cane 1 mates of eal poles Jomo Kenyatta, for example, pr apr wishing to sppenenatonalatic inthe face of mssonry acy, etd that "No Kiuyu wordy of the mame would wat eo many 2 ‘who Ud} not been excised, a6 this operation [was] a prea reesving 2 compete moral and ralgous educaton” (Kenya 1953] Sinibr examples ean be found inthe wings of Sekow Tur, Jus Iyerete, and many other founding fathers of Mean sonal a 19 Ofer Tmo made what must have bee one of the most rai tak mens of his generation when he not ony decaed women's mincpton {bea national paoriy anda precondition for nory but lo went 0 48 10 deplore “outmoded catoms and cll pon Congresamen to shar Abomesie work so tat women ould alo be policy ative: A the ott frre, ane of the most etrograde example was the Nigerian ntionslst leader Tats Bake, who opposed women being given the roe in the sone prt of the country, despite the ewanchecat of women a the south “The Alcan counties cited at mos progressive on "the woman gu Sia” have tended te those that hve kvoled women ia matty ston, and nor coincidentally wornen acts the globe have sdopted posters of women crying guns as ions of revolutionary eins Unda’ (989) sly of women’s pce in the Mozambican wat for idependence reves that most ofthe women fighters scully permed ingles bu nce ary tsk eateing,poterage, et} Othes were dispatched 0 i ate Iecnse a women in a sewliy wsl sky, they wee able Yo shame mst into volunesnng The partion of oie in Nasal he ‘ongoing liberation wae in South Alaa as luo been sae, bat hie wil ‘eye ongoing consideration if mj ule snl reel pa pation af ome tnt ket ofa because Hack wom in South Aba Ive been so oppreved and excnded). ti ow ea that een progesshe sateen fom the eaeshp do no suie to lt change he genet retin ofa soc ‘And hat happened vo women i those paces whet vce hs been seated? Repth, the weatnen of women n several ofthe idependet states powe that participation a miay sci doesnot neces teat late to progres gender politics, Ae revoitonary a ero athe tere Samora Maclin cot snoring the sem dvi of bor by ling fn Mozambican wore ut nt inn, to clean up the sets of Maputo. Reports rom Zina ifn tac any of the won who joined nen inthe bush to fight the whe scr seine found themes rected in favor of more cds feminine women once the ging war ee Buti the gender eltons amongst the fighters were as unequal in the eld Unny’evidence ugat, wha ais ws there for aseing gender eq iy would bea necesny fut of itary vitory?™ Even hngs were fat ote progressive on the elt of bt, quite cee thats neces 10 ‘wage continaing stn to deepen wom Weration, ete fer national Indgendence hs been granted or on by mtr acon, Teseems ela hat Acan women ered the poston period at 20 immense diadvantage and under plbalcondtons whch, whe increas ing unfavorable to fn a whole nonetheless favored men, who a0 fe 6 thenelves the ahouty of ariclting the aston cure apd Pris. ‘This backgroud flrs some Insight sto wy postcolonial soc es have coarined 6 be so oppressive to women Gender Meologe and Violence ia Postoonal Ae. “The gander poles of postcolonial Aican goverment vary wie, but _women conte 1 be undenepresented in postions of fence (Papa, ‘Sn Sta 198). Tefen cen hat tose natens that pte fora socialist, ‘model of development have been more progesive thin those that dd fot Inthe ascent sci states, stong women’s oepzations ensured ‘women's partcpation in pobial fe by waging campagne for women’s Teh and clang i poa thence to callenge rates such as wile Frnt and forced surges, The exitence of ofl women's onpanz ‘ont did much 1 rie the profile of women ip the pew independent face As a tal the legal and consttaona sation for women in {Tumania, Angola, ‘Movanbigie, or even Zinbabwe is ahead of many ‘Westcrncountin Economie dependence continues to prelude aller exer tase of legal ight, however and sur such as and ownership and the itaplomentation of progressive manage awsleave macht be dese. ‘On the other hand, sates pena captalist models of development show ailerent stvctate and practice of gender inequality. Vana {Goto describes how male Kenyon Paamentarans repeatedly opposed fhe replacement of old colonial laws snd rsxed she ioduction of = Marriage Bilin 1968 which would have made wifebeating 9 esiminal ‘llease punishable by sie meats imprisonment; the Kenyan politicians ‘kine that we-bening war "a normal customary practice” In West ‘Afocn states ke Niger, buemrati soc nd ela nest Pe {ail buts in practice, ost women exerce a high degree of autonomy, 2 Situation fated by thr involvement in independent economic atv tik, The high public profile of the wives of the mtr cite ives the impression thao least these women te extremely power compo hoy Nigra, but even sense examination of th tpl evidence ih ‘et ths oe fa rom bet (WIN 198). ‘Sue the economic xsi ripped the continent in dhe 1970, lan women have faced some of the harshest ving conditions and forms of Cppeeson inthe modem wodd The decine of many AMtican economies Fas been accompanied by polices, and ie his context dat sex nl and cocteive cones ver women hate ofen been exresol with = engeane, st they wer inthe colonial period. This i exempted by the enrap cana that hve taken place ma urbe of coon. {Tac evidence fem Zinbabyre Jacobs and Howacd 1987), Gabon, Zambi, Tameanin, aed other ations reves tit these campaigns ae esly ccompaied by wiespead abuse of women The women rounded wp i ‘Gabon in 1988, for example, were made arable to soldiers forthe ters sal pleauze Tabet 1991) stant national elope continue 10 ell upon women ply & strived tole, ths time se Mothers ofthe Naor. Mobut' ofa Aloutne involves the mass “promotion” of women to mete wives and tthe, am econosie clawte tha compels worn to engage it all {oom of work eutiethe hone, and fen Co suport ie hous In {he pomcolonsl context, Mobuts ideology af domestic sorts he el ‘rotction relations ofthe whole county by dvang womens ecwomic Ponutaconsy and ths fang greater exploration of bo women amd ‘ct by inematnal caitlin. Recent research conducted in Zbabwe “Shown tht nme th en ofthe Herston wa, de proportion of women Jning accesso eduction bas actually allen, and that this mos peo oueed in the fel of bigheredtction (Caidzawa 1992) nsdn to {he pi icimtaton of women by poston eines, here ial a Iagh tolerance of dowestic violence A Zimbabwean wornen’'s erp ‘nfm thas between Jar and December 1990, in Harare aloe, thee were 376 repos of ape ad 1766 reports of assau,of which appro Irotly 6000 were deed domes ssl (Tylor and Stewat 1990, “Thee no rewon co ste that Harare i diferent om any eter pos ibid Af capt "There are a great may ways in wbich ofa deologes interact wih iol ition to enoce the ordain of women, both ety and inet In Niger, have seen a lose interaction between he miary fovenmens! campaign and rig telgious fnamentlin, both of tehich get women dicly bu abo promote violence aginst them. One ‘the most unpopular eines mounted "War Against Indice” cx igh whch atibted te sunt’ woreing economic and pote {Gro "moral deadence sul hing.” Consequently, disposes bess, Tomelss people, srct hawker, and wornen were subjected co all mannerof havassment, At the tine, the medi difsed negative images of women, bam her for widespread immoray and compton. In this contest, 1986 the mitary governor of Kano Sate sue an eit which outlawed Single women and which fala the ulimatum tt women fad thee ‘month to get maredo¢ e del with" A yea ater, an undergrnnd Maton brothetcod know ss "yan dakar amsya” was uncovered wea seveel of its mambers were arsed forthe ape and violent abuse of women. The profesed purpose ofthis aeraity was to mest and vse {ny won found onthe sets alone, onthe as that those wome a no riht ro be thee ‘Wma (1989) comets onthe undrecparing of violence, and drs ‘our atenton 1 the fat tat 40 percent of lest of domestic violence eniiied by a pelininary survey in Keay volved the aude or ma Slaughter ofthe woman, This sggests an excemely high olernce fr vo lence. More recently, during the ble ootery over the massacre at St sto schol the hendmare ae reported to have remarked thatthe boys “meant no asm they only wanted o rap” in any easy moet ofthe pets coverage focused onthe billings eather chan on the rapes” AS in any ‘other contexts, wom abuse exis "beyond the ln" since the existing Iegal provisions are not efor by male plc, magitsten, or cours: ND ran he ever been gine the full nce for rape in Kenya Repous by buna-igh’sofgaizaons reveal dsurbing evidence of women being detained, sel abused, and tortured by sepresive regimes | Sho, Mauetans an Somalia In shor Seems that lence for lence against women has continued to characte Alfian social and pull ie since independence; vilenee ial appeas be proiferating tuer the harsh snd despetecconomie and pital conditions now pre ling in nan parts ofthe continent, The fil pr cf this exay comsirs What measures have bee tk to cb th distin ition, and oy thes initiatives compare wth those taken nthe pans ofthe wold Ant-Violene Stal and Steps From the eidence proserted abo, itis lee ha the coercive conta of women edemic inthe colonial pei, has ge whalged by postcol ‘ul remes. The evidence fom women’s tds in the West iets that there, fom, women ef om eli most teas of soil if Whi 2 {ret many changes in women's postions and ways of Bring have occued sm Afoca ss wel asin Earope, vclenceagast wosnan as contaued tebe ‘wilespread in both egons Gren te stoscalcontantes and faces Inthe stctualrtonsbips between Hack and wie women in Europe aud in the Aca colonies, would be worthwhile to analyze the oe vo Tene plays i configuring hese processes Few sso Veh Ws tothe Ws, women have mie nl camps bis nd ot side tte structs, wih sometimes inpresive el Hetero and Noth American counts, the ws aod lal procedures alfecing abused women have ce changed ong practices ve come unde ar any hey cri Eade 186) nds as ed some plc fot tointrce pei aining on how to esponbeter to domes wolence. Improved cess ope Rousing a te provion of fg or battered omen ae other corte res of Toga comatited stg by Yromels movements Howerr, a rece sty of eats to wolece ‘ais bck women n Landon ined tha ths stats ave Bea es etc in anoraing the sts of Hack and monty women ‘who have been sbjoed to vislence (Mana 19890). Mais Westen feist theron of okence often do not ake lg acon the rests of Hak wns nes Thr pay bens, n the West har bee acl on wo have bene oc of the npc canpigs aimed teresting male wen gut women ‘Wahine ors curse ger eared as the nt dare tal social sion a nen re wel Big nea ede ‘gressive fa Kepng with seal ase womens they ‘wera ingle homogenous group, dvd of css and vaca eal feced o met tances ofa power Soi and thr ems ve en es vocal in shares of emis pen, with ese tht ce pa ara vews have donated the snvlene movement Femina sponses to volence gant omer tects counties haye also pete serine of se src same oe that os ‘ides ele supp, suchas Bosig a»veatdng relay, Police force thus ben asd hat mt women vein nla ages ‘th breadwinner upon whom they se economy dependent. However thee stumps d not hold for many Back nd Wer women. For one thn, pu semces have fled ely i tempts 0 olfer appropiate supporto Mack women, and wel profes Siomil (most om parochat miles backpnd)hne an ‘monstated thc peor ote, ten of acy ck ‘omen ie atin! hare in ong pbc hosing, yep oles protection, org! syppare On account ofthe cea deems ‘ater mmigation Ls any lack women conan conf the tak of ting deported when and if dy bek sestance, Or of being racy Dra when anit sc poh kl nerves. en wih the ole il demo of Westen Ee, women are suborder way, ft whish Fins theo of lence fave yet to fl aes ut the taser of Euopen enc thes(60 Anis Marsa tetas wo Alin cannot be ney. Not only te there histori nse thich inave not been purge, but tere theoie hare also been developed in Ite capt contxts under + specie ct of eandiions that are very dere from those in Aficancoundtes. Bean, for example, ia wel tate, and there re complex ep an publi oly connderatios wchare pecan tons for even the lnited ccs of the women's movements there. Even ‘within sich contexts, black feninis have found it necessary 9 onganie tntonomosy arth 2 view toasting a diferent ancvilece plies eng stention to acts of lene agaist both sees, cof aggression peetrted bythe state elf the deste of ace meni ple custody and Polistes rome. Also they have ha to highigh he vera biity of ck people to rac als onthe stectandia Rousing estas. In Shot, bck feminists inthe soled eral democracies have conchded that i isamdeguate to thexitevokace ara inherently male characteristic Face the nontandrabiliy of Westem forint statin to the developing wor, consider wha hppened when the Bits strategy Df estaching refuges for women was adopted by some Indan women's [rouse abeence of longters housing options fr battered women i fhe Subcontinent whose there snot the sate land of publi hows a8 Britain, new problems of homeesnes aed dstiuion Were created forthe ‘women survivors who, having le ther homes, bad wether a ome ‘etuin oor any acer ler accommodation Aca Alec Stole Only i vey few ounties ha the sate has Been the main vice fe aativilen® atvsm, In Ugands, women Patlamentacans ave been ‘temely voc Perhaps because the rpe and abuse of women had become {o widesprcad daring the yar of diatorship and war, afer much heated ‘kate th contrvenl toa Ac warped ia 1990. Ths coms ovina sngentsenteces or pe he mpisoament and chil rape rh entencs) 2 A the ine ofthis ring, no ne has yt been convicted for sentenced under these provisions but tthe loca eve, rape «aes ate ‘ing soporte and dea wt bythe foal Resistance Coons" Tolle Alcan counties, women's proges have heen able to secure donor fanding to conduct teseach an produce resource material and ‘nlonnation packages for use im antviolence work. The Tarzanian Women's ‘Media Assocation ip Dar Ee Saas andthe Women and Law n Southern ‘race revenrh network areas wo examples. Nigeria despite he huge “avout of pully suroding the Frat Lady's "erter Life Programme,” including the recent uaching o a mutiniion dolla cee for women's evelopment, hee bas en no ofl action on woman abuse Rte twos It so an atononneie and relate foe pfle ngaiation ike ‘Sheaves and Valans / 61 ‘Women i Nigeria to ld the ft ever workaop onthe abject eel as March 19, Tealso needs 10 be sd on the bass ofthe ngatheed evidence of wi ons of women al over the continent, shat can wom have not bees pie resents of abuse sb some athoutes Would fave us btexe, The idence tats valle sogests that they have fund namerons wars of ‘essing the hunations meted out to ther, both individually and wth the Ip ofsympatheicrinds and relies te sake way, Alcan conn nies daly ose and suppor mio of reiges local, with none of be Fost thats nations now dct toward the ee ous who Bae been driven a fr as Europe. Her, where thee & no weledevery ss ten, cms be sida fo vey abused women who makes the eadines Dy being led or maimed or foreach of tose who safer in bed dom sence, there mst be many thousands who receive lod spor a0 who gage in a hidden struggle forthe survive and iaitpa contouos ‘Mtggle that ther estes nor demands alaowledgmet Conon From the histori ecor, we show, ding the clonal pio, new gender ideologies were introduce, Weloges paring wee sad Inen's state across the Arc continent. Colonial gender ideologies were the product of bh neal and extra eto, and wee fed by eur Sn rater cond which inected in complex waye as we etcted the postcolonial epoch, There i ceay a ne for more dete sty of these developments in porta Soles, efen as we forge iatatonl Tinka. We need to understand and tore the divers wii deren rations and aero the Asean coninent, snd the ways ih whch Eup Underdeveloped deen pars of Anca diferent, comtnon legacies a the lel of state tuctres and ccunerbed constuction of womanhood ewihanding “This es sketched a general aework whic ighlghs the ways which the Euopean caviniticconsons of feminine a marin ing cology of domentcty deceased the legal and soc stat of Alcan ‘women in many spheres of Me, i both real and un ae. 1 bate Shown when we ena the istry of woman abe, we mus reopmiae ‘hat thee have ben eins continites betwen coli ational aad posi estes ‘have tied to argue tha peybps because ofthe pervasiveness and cere character of woman abuse the egon, Aca women have had tozly an thee oh indigenous sates; some have le lent stations tile others embark upon completely dlerent lle, often withthe overt rapport of other women oe synipathetic member of tel comm ‘der No dou, many of thse heroic sesponars have been ive ed62 Aina ame because they have usually oe indirection: to howendons cond font and have remsied unsupported bythe cormuntics at luge In econ years women hare begun totes volnce in a moce collective ‘anncr both within and outa sate status. Women have deployed {Tferent satepies naire counties th varying depres of ues. I {sigh ime thot these bold intver wou more definte suppor tthe Toca ations, nd ineaationl evel