GENDER INEQUALITY: A DISCOURSE ON CRITICAL TRADITIONAL HEGEMONY IN AFRICA

Abstract

The paper makes a critical examination of gender inequality: a discourse on critical traditional hegemony in Africa. Gender discussion is an old scholarly exercise and much blame has been levied on the males discriminating against the females. But this work does not hinge total blame on the men rather, it looks at it from the biblical antecedent where it investigates that gender practice is as old as man. The work further reveals that female (women) should wake up to their responsibilities so as to compete favourably and effectively with men instead of casting gender aspersions against men. The work also identifies the situation of women, research into cultural practices against women, decoding obnoxious structures, destructive widowhood, inheritance of property, levirate marriage, shaming unmarried mothers, divorced women and women against women etc. The theoretical framework adopted in this work is the Liberal Theory of Inequality. The work is generally divided into three sub-sections namely: historical cultural practices on gender in Africa, traditional discourse/appraisal about the situation of women and finally a critical African-historical examination or discourse on gender inequality. Conclusions were made where it was discovered that some of these gender cultural practices are also practiced in the church and recommendations were suggested that the church should embrace African Christianity where some relevant African norms should be incorporated so that there will be cross-fertilization of ideas