Women and the Transition to Socialism in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Book chapter

Title:	Women and the Transition to Socialism in Sub-Saharan Africa
Author:	Ong, Bie Nio
Book title:	Africa: Problems in the Transition to Socialism
Year:	1986
Pages:	72-94
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Subsaharan Africa Africa
Subjects:	socialism feminism Cultural Roles Equality and Liberation Politics and Government Sex Roles Status of Women
Abstract:	Theoretical and political clarity in the analysis of women's oppression and the nature of women's labour is essential. Drawing on both Marxist and feminist theories in order to define women's role in production and reproduction, the author comes to a reappraisal of women's productive labour. The political and practical implications of this redefinition are that women should be considered the economic linchpins of society. Examples from Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe illustrate the problems women encounter in their struggle for equality. Women's participation in political processes is contingent upon changing the social relations of production in conjunction with changing gender relations, upon the degree of 'independence' of their organizations, and upon the correct scientific 'valuation' of their labour. Inadequate conceptions of women profoundly affect both women's struggles and development strategies generally. Notes, ref.