Dispelling the myth of pre-colonial gender equality in Yoruba culture

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Periodical article

Title:	Dispelling the myth of pre-colonial gender equality in Yoruba culture
Author:	Pearce, Tola Olu
Year:	2014
Periodical:	Canadian Journal of African Studies (ISSN 0008-3968)
Volume:	48
Issue:	2
Pages:	315-331
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	Yoruba women family gender inequality gender studies precolonial period
About person:	Nathaniel Fadipe
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00083968.2014.951665
Abstract:	Controversy over the existence of a gender order among the pre-colonial Yoruba in south-western Nigeria is growing within postcolonial scholarship, including among Western academics. This article argues that Nathaniel Fadipe's ethnographic study, which references the pre-colonial era, sheds light on the debate. Fadipe was the first Yoruba sociologist to gain a Ph.D. Focusing on his discussions of childhood, the domestic sphere and family life, the author undertakes a textual analysis that compares his unpublished dissertation (1939) with the published version that was edited by Okediji and Okediji (1970). He concludes that both texts present clear evidence of pre-colonial gender constructs. The dissertation, less referenced by scholars, is however more persistent in discussing inequalities. The article discusses the portrayal of gender, offers reasons for differences between the two texts and highlights areas of divergence. Bibliogr., notes, sum. [Journal abstract]