Abstract
Globally, cases of the so called gender inequality are on increase as social transformation towards modernity and liberal lives. This situation has seriously been contested and reported on matters related to land ownership, employment, education, gender-based violence, marriage lives, decision-making, power struggles, freedom of choice and so forth. Despite its existence, it has been evolving over time in terms of its manifestations, magnitudes and interpretations in Africa. This paper has surveyed literatures on its changing nature in Africa. It underscored the bounding discourses from pre to post-colonial Africa. Findings revealed that, what is contemporarily regarded as inequalities across gender lens among Africans is the new interpretations assigned by the westerners on the influences of liberalism and western democracies contrary to the deep rooted African traditions. As such, some Africans have been dancing the drum which has created economic, political and socio-cultural chaos in the continent. These new perceptions assigned on African gender relations have extensively eroded the African traditional lives based on mutual respect and agreement across gender lens. Africans and other gender actors should understand that, the trajectory of gender relations in African communities has been affected by the new interpretations triggered by the external influences and aspirations. Therefore, Africans should dance it on the benchmark of their long rooted ancestral traditional norms. Key words: Modernism, Gender Relations, Africa, Historical Discourses.
Highlights
The current world of globalization, liberal ideas and capitalist individualism has impacted on both human insecurity and the fight which calls for individual rights (Caracciolo and Santeramo, 2013)
As such, diversified roles in social, economic and political condition in African traditional setting has never been the cause of problems and was not interpreted as discriminations, persecutions and marginalisation of across gender (Maddox, 1990)
As a result of misinterpretations of the real African lives from its historical perspectives, modernity and new perceptions implanted to African societies through western educations, democracies, and activism, liberty and freedom concepts have seriously contributed to African dissolutions, conflicts and chaos at all levels (Mihanjo and Mpuya, 1998)
Summary
The current world of globalization, liberal ideas and capitalist individualism has impacted on both human insecurity and the fight which calls for individual rights (Caracciolo and Santeramo, 2013). By what came to be interpreted as gender inequality in African societies especially in the issue of resource access and decision making was just attached to modernity and western perceptions which had nothing on the traditional African families prior to capitalist interactions. Households in this regard are not social units, but are as well proper historical, demographic, economic and geographical unit of gender relations analysis on African settings (Sow, 1997).
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