African feminism is relevant to and inspired by feminism in the West. However, this doesn’t mean that that the two are identical. There are varying factors and barriers that affect both women and no single solution will be the answer to both of their issues because Western and African women have differences which lead them to different concerns, solutions, and ideologies. One prominent voice of African feminism is Mọlara Ogundipẹ-Leslie, who argues for indigenous forms of feminism, which led her to coin her own unique form of feminism and create a political organization for Nigerian women.
Within Africa, there are multiple feminisms because not every woman within Africa faces the same issues. Ogundipẹ-Leslie notes that “there are many feminisms, …show more content…
WIN is a political organization that advocated for women’s “full social, economic, and political rights in the family, in the workplace, and in society in general” (p. 453). One of the main reasons she created WIN was to research “indigenous forms of feminist resistance” due to “criticisms that African feminism is merely an imitation of Western ideas” (p. 453). Furthermore, WIN was unique due to “its double attack on both class and gender oppression” (p. 453). She wanted to the issue of class and gender to be addressed in Nigerian society and assure people that both are interlinked in the struggle to break free from oppression. Ogundipẹ-Leslie focused on “male Marxists insensitivity on women’s issues” (p. 453). Much of the time, men who focused on issues of class in society completely neglected the issue of gender. In fact, they failed to see how the two could be linked and the specific problems that a women of a lower-class might endure. In retaliation to this common viewpoint, Ogundipẹ-Leslie used WIN as an outlet to voice her concerns about it. She believed that both issues can and should be dealt with simultaneously and was against the view that “class oppression precedes and subsumes all others” (p. 453). Ogundipẹ-Leslie was one of the many African feminists that were a Marxist and a Feminist. In addition to this organization, Ogundipẹ-Leslie coined her own term called Stiwanism, which stands for the Social Transformation including Women in Africa. Her main reason for coining this term was to have “concentration on the real issue of the conditions of women in Africa” (p. 454). One of the beliefs of Stiwanism is “both the psyche and the family as crucial sites of social and political change” (p.
Within Africa, there are multiple feminisms because not every woman within Africa faces the same issues. Ogundipẹ-Leslie notes that “there are many feminisms, …show more content…
WIN is a political organization that advocated for women’s “full social, economic, and political rights in the family, in the workplace, and in society in general” (p. 453). One of the main reasons she created WIN was to research “indigenous forms of feminist resistance” due to “criticisms that African feminism is merely an imitation of Western ideas” (p. 453). Furthermore, WIN was unique due to “its double attack on both class and gender oppression” (p. 453). She wanted to the issue of class and gender to be addressed in Nigerian society and assure people that both are interlinked in the struggle to break free from oppression. Ogundipẹ-Leslie focused on “male Marxists insensitivity on women’s issues” (p. 453). Much of the time, men who focused on issues of class in society completely neglected the issue of gender. In fact, they failed to see how the two could be linked and the specific problems that a women of a lower-class might endure. In retaliation to this common viewpoint, Ogundipẹ-Leslie used WIN as an outlet to voice her concerns about it. She believed that both issues can and should be dealt with simultaneously and was against the view that “class oppression precedes and subsumes all others” (p. 453). Ogundipẹ-Leslie was one of the many African feminists that were a Marxist and a Feminist. In addition to this organization, Ogundipẹ-Leslie coined her own term called Stiwanism, which stands for the Social Transformation including Women in Africa. Her main reason for coining this term was to have “concentration on the real issue of the conditions of women in Africa” (p. 454). One of the beliefs of Stiwanism is “both the psyche and the family as crucial sites of social and political change” (p.