Murphy Fraser History of Africa Paper #2 Bernault/Cross 11/16/11 Colonial rule in 20th century Africa illustrates a complex history

of transition for many African women. Previously engaged in traditional roles during the 19th century, colonialism began to change the spheres in which women engaged in during the 20th century, allowing women new opportunities to recharge and reinvent their identity. A patriarchal system that severely contrasted gender roles was slowly being transformed towards gender equality and independence. While colonialism did indeed restrict many of the spheres in which women were involved, it also allowed many African women the chance to exert their individuality and take charge of their social and economic authority and freedom. African women used colonialism to build social and economic emancipation by creating new forms of social capital, utilizing complex systems of economic stability and establishing a new female identity. While there is no disagreement that the colonial era had a detrimental impact on women in Africa, it did provide women with a backdrop on which to judge what needed to be changed. Colonists viewed women as barriers to their civilizing mission and they were considered obstinate and disinterested in the colonial state and economy (Lecture, 10/25). Colonialism in Africa was an extremely gendered project. Colonists stereotyped African women as savage and hyper-sexual, often imposing Victorian models of the ideal female to further subjugate these women (Lecture, 10/25). Colonialism also used African men to further detach women from the colonial process.

By enforcing a model of double patriarchy, colonists not only exerted a political and economic strong arm themselves, but used African men to contribute to what they hoped would be the continued subjugation of women. By utilizing an oscillating labor and migration system, the colonists removed the men from their homes and families and left the women to fill the roles left behind. Women were now responsible for many of the tasks and duties that were considered to be traditionally masculine. For example, in A Grain of Wheat, Mumbi, wife of Gikonyo, assumed many of his duties while he was imprisoned during the Mau Mau rebellion. So, while the codification of customary laws in colonial Africa protected the men's control over the women, the use of this oscillating migratory system left many women with the opportunity to take control of their own lives by assuming the roles these men left behind. By assuming these roles, women were able to experience a new found sense of freedom and autonomy. They were allowed the opportunity to learn that they could indeed take care of themselves. While it is argued that the effects of colonialism were considerably more detrimental to rural women as opposed to urban women, Bemba women in rural, colonial Zambia were demonstrating transformed practices of ukupula; a practice whose origins date back to before British colonialism. Ukupula meant exchanging labor for food, usually a relative, under the moral obligation that nobody should starve (Lecture, 10/25). Increased male absenteeism revived this practice, another way in which colonialism provided women with new opportunities to experiment with a woman's sense of individuality and self-esteem. While these times were by no means easy, women were taking control of their lives, working to provide for themselves and their families. Women also began brewing beer,

which they then sold for cash. They organized beer parties for men, asking for labor favors in return. Thus, Bemba women were slowly accessing male labor, creating new exchanges between men and women (Lecture, 10/25). While they had no direct access to the cash economy, women were using their creativity to slowly integrate themselves into new roles as competent members of African society. It wasn't just the men migrating into the cities, but women as well. While male migration was by no means permanent, urban migration on behalf of African women was indeed an end. These women moved to the city to flee the oppression created by colonial systems of double patriarchy and the economic deterioration in the countryside (Lecture, 10/25). Here they had opportunities to build social and economic autonomy and sever family ties. In essence, city life for many African women meant a fresh start. The extreme gender imbalance between 1890 and 1920 in Ghana and the Congo moved colonial impressions of women from reluctance to acceptance (Lecture, 10/25). The surplus of men and the shortage of women in the Ghanaian city of Sekondi and Leopolville in the Congo fueled this acceptance. While colonial forces accepted women to even out the gender imbalance, these same women experienced new opportunities to engage in services directly linked to wage labor. After the transition from reluctance to acceptance between 1920 and 1930, African women were becoming engaged members of African city life. They participated in petty trade, working as bakers, food sellers, and in other informal industries. It is at this point that we really see African women reinventing their identity to combat colonial subjugation. Malaya prostitution in Nairobi between

1920 and 1940 highlights women's use of their skills and knowledge to forge new chains of social capital and economic autonomy. These prostitutes performed domestic services for wage laborers and many became land owners and respected members of the urban community (Lecture 10/25). Unlike what we imagine as prostitution here in the United States, these women were not street people nor outcasts. They were using the resources available to take control of their lives and gain autonomy. While increased social capital and a transforming sense of identity was taking root, women were taking measures to ensure their hard work would not go unnoticed or remain unprotected. In Brazzaville and Kinshasa, women were practicing kitemo. Here, money was saved every month and kept by a treasurer. Each member received the total amount on a rotating, regular basis (Lecture, 10/15). By engaging in these revolving saving societies, African women created a support system among each other while fueling their social and financial capital and independence. Colonial acceptance had finally allowed African women to benefit from the cash and market economy they had so steadfastly protected and denied women access to. Education was a crucial aspect of the African woman's shifting identity and position in colonial Africa. Education became an asset for women, something to be admired and appreciated when the time came for them to marry. Young girls and women were taking a new role in the church, working as nuns, teachers, nurses, and caretakers (Lecture, 10/27). The formation of Catholic and Protestant fraternities allowed lay female members the opportunity to work for spiritual advancement. Here African women could take on social projects and public

celebrations. The public sphere was becoming more and more attainable for women during colonial rule. Associations for Elegance were formulated in Congo and Brazzaville. Although led by a male patron, members were single women, financially autonomous, and meeting in bars. They were embracing the colonial idea of paraitre, a persona contrasting with a role assigned by colonialism (Lecture, 10/27). These 1950s Associations for Elegance promoted bars and music clubs as new public spheres in which men and women could mix. A new model of womanhood based on public visibility, looks, and individuality autonomy was rapidly changing roles and images imposed on African women by colonial powers (Lecture, 10/27). The search for a redefined African identity was behind the need and desire for change proclaimed by many African women. It accompanied social and economic autonomy in a way that illustrated the demand for a well rounded, integrated, African woman. A new model of urban femininity emerged, bringing with it a style that could be adopted by married and unmarried women alike (Lecture, 10/27). However, colonialism did not make it easy for women to create a unified feminine image. Many women were accused of avoiding marriage and engaging in pre-marital or inter-racial sex (Lecture, 10/27). The modern dress many African women were wearing was often times considered disreputable or inappropriate. The example Hansen described in Dressing Dangerously follows these assumptions clearly. The use of the miniskirt in Zambia undermined the solidified, colonial use of forced gender relations to subjugate and belittle Zambian women's sexuality, expression, and identity. African women had been successful up to this point in using colonialism to build social and economic

emancipation. It was when an empowered, westernized African woman emerged from the pressures of colonialism that colonists and Africans alike began to feel threatened. While the colonial pressures placed on men contributed to a crisis of masculinity, female power only fueled this crisis. New models of mothering formed, while ideas of marrying for love and engaging in monogamous relationships were taking root. These were western ideas, interpreted by Africans during times of colonial rule. Many women now had power in their relationships with their husbands, a sort of social capital that is crucial to the development of a concrete, sustainable identity. Marriage was still desired, but it was desired in a manner that was beneficial to women. A new insistence on love and romance broke male expectations and challenged the former dominating, womanizing, violent male culture in Africa (Lecture, 10/27). For the first time, it can be argued, men were competing against women for a tangible role in colonial society. Women had permeated gender divides and were now considered members, no matter how acute, of African and colonial society. African women used colonialism to engage in a revolution of autonomy and identity. They did this by using colonial practices to fuel their own agendas; capitalizing on western ideas and colonial systems of oppression to enter into society. By engaging in ukupula, kitemo, and embracing paraitre, African women reinvented themselves as socially and economically autonomous individuals, thus creating a new African female identity. A transition from colonial reluctance to acceptance fueled these women's integration into society, creating new spaces of social and civic engagement in which women were not only welcome but

respected as well. Perhaps this shift toward autonomy can best be summarized in the work of Mariama B. So Long A Letter presents us with an image of changing Africa, Senegal to be exact, that illustrates a culture irrevocably changed by colonial presence. B illustrated how western colonialism works directly alongside African culture in a way that transcends tradition and history. Her character, Ramatoulaye, illustrates a progression of identity change. From widow to mother to an autonomous woman, Ramatoulaye experienced both the pressures of modernization and the dedication to a cultural identity. By creating new forms of social capital, engaging in complex systems of economic exchange, and establishing a new female identity, African women have used historical colonial processes and procedures to solidify ground for a brighter, more accessible future.