Feminism and the African reality: rejoinder to Patricia McFadden
Gaba, L.
Southern Africa Political and Economic Monthly 7(6): 59-60
1994
PMID: 12287634 Document Number: 285139
Proponents of Western-type feminism have failed to enlist most African women because this movement ignores the culture, tradition, mores and values, and political economies of African communities as well as the allegiance of African women to marriage as the foundation for society. Patricia McFadden, a feminist academic who writes monthly columns on gender issues, embodies this contradiction as she derides marriage as a millstone around women's necks and yet pronounces that she is a crusader for the restoration of traditional African culture. As human society evolved and developed an economy, joint labor was carried out first by the few dozen members of a clan and later by the larger tribes. The earliest clans were matriarchies. As production became more developed, patriarchies evolved. During this whole primitive, communal economic era, there were no class or gender distinctions. When specialization and barter emerged, surplus products created private property which, in turn, led to distinctions between people. The patriarchal society recognized women's natural role in procreation and allowed them release from work to have babies and nurture them. Since it would be foolish to invoke equal rights to erase maternity leave or avoid giving special considerations to pregnant working women, it follows that marriage is one of the human attributes which distinguishes man from animals. Thus, by abhorring the family organization of society, McFadden is neither an Africanist nor a feminist. Her definition of feminist is narrowed to educated single mothers of independent means; this eliminates nearly 80% of the women in the world. McFadden unjustly extrapolates her 3 months experience of marriage to that of every marriage; she projects her husband's boorish behavior on all husbands. This is no reason to encourage other women to give up the security they find in their marriages. Some African governments have already enacted laws to increase the legal status of women and enhance their income-producing activities. These changes have as their goal the greater opportunity for women to contribute to their families, not the opportunity for women to become independent of their families. Women have also become empowered academically through equal entry opportunities in schools at all levels. McFadden's advice is particularly dangerous in this era of HIV/AIDS. The dissolution of the family would also lead to increased numbers of juvenile delinquents with more children reared without the help of both parents. It is time for feminists to return to the basic moral order which honors marriage and the family.