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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Swahili Women since the Nineteenth Century: Theoretical and Empirical Considerations on Gender and Identity Construction
Authors:Gower, Rebecca
Salm, StevenISNI
Falola, ToyinISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:Africa Today
Volume:43
Issue:3
Pages:251-268
Language:English
Geographic term:East Africa
Subjects:social inequality
Swahili
women
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Women's Issues
History and Exploration
Cultural Roles
Historical/Biographical
Sex Roles
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/4187108
Abstract:This article analyses and updates the theoretical discussion on the link between gender and identity and shows how a group of Swahili women on the East African coast dealt with this link in practice. Feminist scholars now realize that it is simplistic to universalize the position and experiences of women. The status of women is not determined solely by sex; diverse other factors are also important in the analysis of gender identity. Consequently, it is important to recognize that Swahili women have not occupied a static identity in terms of spatial and temporal factors. The socioeconomic position of Swahili women is the result of the complex interaction of many factors including class, ethnic, religious and geographic variables. Social dynamics - such as the gender relations within Islam, urbanization and colonialism - have not had a uniform impact on all Swahili women. Scholars should also be wary of labeling all actions by women as resistance to oppression. For example, spirit possession cults are more symbolic of religious beliefs than of insurgency against male domination. Swahili women possess a certain amount of indirect and hidden power, even though Swahili culture has limited their participation in public life. Ref.
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