Abstract

Traditional African cosmological and sociological accounts delineate pictures of complementary gender relations. Such narratives denote the active participation of both gender in the traditional African society. This is contradicted by the Victorian ideology of the colonial era which restricted women’s role solely to the private sphere. This colonial ideology is further perpetuated by contemporary interpretations of holy texts which birth religious fundamentalism, an ideology that reinforces unequal gender relations. This chapter therefore interrogates traditional African gender constructs with the goal of emphasizing the complementary roles played by members of both gender in the traditional African society. Contra Oyeronke Oyewumi, this chapter argues that gender constructs existed prior to colonialism, and should be redefined contemporaneously as complementary, rather than hierarchical or binary opposed.