So what do you think? Is feminism un-African? Check out this slightly controversial piece.

Feminism  Versus African Women's Rights
Written by Owen Alik Shahadah



Feminism and other concepts rotate in the west, infect, and attach themselves to the broader woman’s struggle for justice and equality in a male dominated world. However as a paradigm, it is a diabolically anti-African anti-human neologism emerging out of the Eurocentric reactionary women’s movement in the 50’s. To collapse feminism  and women’s rights is a fundamental linguistic flaw as the two concepts articulate completely different social realities. It is therefore inadequate to use the term feminism and apply this loaded word to the gender issues of Africa. The one commonality in all African cultures is the de-emphasis on individuality and the emphasis on community, the priority of family and creating new life. The feminist is in agreement with everything that breaks the family unit and inhibits procreation.  Therefore, the African woman should never seek to locate her liberation within the Eurocentric boundaries of feminism.<!--more--> Within the broader African philosophy, the higher focus is balance over “tick for tack” equality. The feminist equality implies “what men can do; women can do to” as distinct from the African question of “right and wrong.” This shows the flawed paradigm which is found in many aspects of Eurocentrism, where objectives are disconnected from spiritual and biological harmony.

The forms of African women’s rights emerging in various parts of the continent do not grow out of individualism within the context of industrial societies, as did Western feminism. In the West, economic and social trends historically pushed women into more active roles in the economy, and Western feminism has focused on women’s struggle for control over reproduction and sexuality. However, African women have had a different experience. African debates do not focus on theoretical questions, the female body, or sexual identity. African feminism is distinctly heterosexual, supportive of motherhood, and focused on issues of “bread, butter, culture, and power.” –

At all places in human culture we can reflect on the biological design and see the role biology plays in influencing the broader human culture. The female is a complement for the male of the species and being a compliment there are sexual dimorphic characteristics, which define gender roles.[i] However, because of the millennium of exploitation of these roles by men, it has caused a great taboo around the topic of gender roles. This does not invalidate the biological or spiritual imperative because no volume of new theory or study will make the male and female biologically capable of the same task. The denial of divinity also plays a heavy role in these dialectics as Eurocentrism seeks to reinvent man as free from a creator.

More here,  http://www.cp-africa.com/2010/04/30/opinion-feminism-verses-african-womens-rights-owen-alik-shahadah/