Call for Contributions, Feminist Africa Issue 20: Pan-Africanism

Afrifem news, Blog

Call for Contributions Feminist Africa Issue 20: Pan-Africanism Editor: Amina Mama   The African Union celebrated its 50th  Year in May 2013, under the general theme Pan-Africanism and Renaissance. At the gala and summit, Africa’s Heads of State’s congratulated themselves on the region’s rising GDP ‘s, anticipating a renewed foreign interest. We are already witnessing […]

Call for Contributions Feminist Africa Issue 20:

Pan-Africanism

Editor: Amina Mama

 

The African Union celebrated its 50th  Year in May 2013, under the general theme Pan-Africanism and Renaissance. At the gala and summit, Africa’s Heads of State’s congratulated themselves on the region’s rising GDP ‘s, anticipating a renewed foreign interest. We are already witnessing a renewed scramble for the material wealth of the region – most explicitly manifest in the land grab that threatens the very fabric of Africa’s survival. The impending expiry of the minimal development goals presents the unpalatable scenario of an Africa characterized by growth without development. Social inequalities sharpen as globalization continues to subordinate people to the exigencies of transnational capital.

Pan-Africanist discourse challenges feminist intellectuals to critically appraise what half a century of African Union has delivered to women, children and indeed, ordinary men. Hard struggles have seen women make modest inroads into political power, while the exploitation of women’s labor continues apace. Women in Africa - like our lands before us – are being “discovered”, newly branded as the 3rd “emerging market”. However, trends across the continent and globally point to the contradictory processes that accompany the “discovery” of women. In Africa, the increasing violence targeted at heterosexual women occurs alongside organized state led onslaughts on same sex sexualities and global (some would say imperialist) rehearsals of how Africa should behave. We are also witnessing troubling global campaigns such as the “Clitoraid”,  “Undies for Africa” and the CNN-led “Bras for Africa” to name a few. What are the implications of such campaigns for transnational feminism?

In the global juridico-political sphere the International Criminal Court has intervened in several African countries, provoking a resurgence of racialised reaction among the political class.

Feminist engagements over the last half century challenge the liberal democratic social contract that remains premised on an unequal sex/gender regime. How is Year 50 being lived on the frontlines of women’s political awakening and growing participation in popular struggles?  How do we theorise the multifarious manifestations of global neoliberal rationalities in Africa, complete with their attendant constructions of gender and sexual politics?

We invite features, standpoints, conversations, profiles, and cultural reviews on the gender dynamics of the past and future of pan-Africanism.

 

Features: submit your abstract by Sept 1 2013.

All completed submissions by 1 Oct  2013.

 

Electronic submissions only to:  [email protected]

For enquiries contact the editorial team at [email protected]

Editorial policy and submission requirements can be found at: http://agi.ac.za/editorial-info

Cover of Feminist Africa, Issue 11, 2008

Submit

The 'African Feminist Ancestors Project' seeks to document the rich history of African women's struggles for autonomy and change. Click on the button below if you would like to contribute details of an African Feminist Ancestor to this project.

Submit