Feminist Movements in Africa

What is the primary focus of feminist movements in Africa?

What is the traditional human rights framework criticized for?

What is the role of the state in the traditional human rights framework?

What legacy of colonialism affected human rights in Africa?

What is the significance of Cook's 1994a work?

What is the main reason why patriarchal societies regulate and control women's sexuality and reproductive capacity?

What is the purpose of the elongation of labia minora in the Baganda culture?

Why does the WHO classify the elongation of labia minora as a harmful cultural practice?

What is the consequence of viewing 'rights' and 'culture' as being at odds?

What is the significance of the Ssenga institution in the Baganda culture?

What is the primary area of emphasis in the traditional human rights framework?

What is the primary violator of rights in the traditional human rights framework?

Why did many post-independence constitutions in Africa exempt personal laws from the non-discrimination principle?

What is the significance of the public-private sphere divide in the African context?

What is the ideological significance of the family in the African context?

The struggle to extend human rights to female citizens is a common thread in all feminist movements in Africa.
The traditional human rights framework emphasizes the duty of the state to uphold citizens' rights within the public sphere (politics and market).
In African states, colonial laws did not extend human rights to the private or domestic sphere, which was governed by indigenous customs and culture.

The public sphere includes politics and the market, where the state is seen as the primary violator of rights.
The private or domestic sphere, governed by customs and culture, falls outside the human rights structure and under the jurisdiction of culture.

Patriarchal societies regulate and control women's sexuality and reproductive capacity to keep them in the domestic arena and dependent on their husbands.
This control ensures paternity and legitimacy of children and property inheritance through the male line.

The practice of elongating the labia minora is classified as Type IV FGM by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO views this practice as a harmful cultural practice that violates women's and children's rights.
However, in the Ssenga institution, this practice enhances sexual pleasure for women, serves as a self-identifier for women, and has aesthetic value for men.

The concepts of "rights" and "culture" are often viewed as being at odds.
African women are expected to strip themselves of their culture to enjoy their rights, which is untenable and contradicts the logic of cultural rights.