The Null Feminist Wave in Africa

Abstract

This paper discusses the null feminist wave in Ghana, a case-study for Sub-Saharan Africa. It shows the absence of the development of a coherent feminine ideology that is universal to all the nations, despite the disparate nature of feminism between African women. This appears as a huge gap in the literature on African Feminism. Through extensive literature review and analysis, it was found that the type of feminism that appears to be prevailing in Ghana and in Sub-Saharan Africa, is based on the enthusiastic appropriation of Western Feminine Theory. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the "feminist movement" has been spawn and promoted by institutional and bilateral entities to reduce gender discrimination, and give women access to male dominated economic opportunities. These developments have occurred with little or no significant contributions initiated solely by African women, and led by African women, due, perhaps, to the lack of knowledge-based transfer of feminist theory or identity. The author defines "African Feminism" and suggests the attributes of "African Feminine Identity" to guide this presentation, and perhaps, future research.