Hi think this is very interesting article
*THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP IN BUILDING THE AFRICAN WOMEN'S
MOVEMENT*
The political maturity of the African masses may to some extent be
traced to economic and social patterns of traditional times. Under
communalism, for example, all land and means of production belonged to
the community. There was people's ownership. Labor was the need and
habit of all. It is very important to know that humanity lived in
communalism for at least 90% of the time that it has been on earth.
During communalism women played a leading role in the society. There
was a division of labor that developed in which for the most part men
hunted and the women gathered in order to provide food for the
collective." History teaches us that the class or social group that
plays the principal role in social production and performs the main
functions in production must, in the course of time, inevitably take
control of that production. There was a time, under the matriarchal,
when women were regarded as the controllers of production. Why was
this? Because under the kind of production then prevailing, primitive
agriculture, women played the principal role in production, they
performed the main functions, while the men roamed the forests in quest
of game. Then came the time, under the patriarchal, when the
predominant position in production passed to men. Why did this change
take place? Because under the kind of produ
ction prevailing at that
time, stock-breeding, in which the principal instruments of production
were the spear, the lasso, and the bow and arrow, the principal role
was played by men." It was from the gathering that women learned that
some of the plants could heal certain illnesses and thus women became
the first doctors. It was women who discovered that you could start
putting the seeds of the plants in the ground and from that process
grow crops. It was women who discovered agriculture. It was women who
figured out the relationship between having sex and a baby being
produced some nine months later. Women were the first and primary
teachers of both the boys and girls in the society. Women were
responsible for organizing the collective.
It was when private property emerged, and as communalism gave way to
slavery and feudalism, that the exploitation of humanity and women
began. The overthrow of mother-right was the world historical defeat of
the female sex. The man took command in the home also; the woman was
degraded and reduced to servitude, she became the slave of his lust and
a mere instrument for the production of children. Individualism and
tendencies to private ownership grew while communalism disintegrated
and the collective spirit declined. The increase of production in all
branches—cattle raising, agriculture, domestic handicrafts—gave human
labor-power the capacity to produce a larger product than
was necessary
for its maintenance…. It was now desirable to bring in new labor
forces. War provided them; prisoners of war were turned into slaves.
With its increase of the productivity of labor, and therefore of
wealth, and its extension of the field of production, came the first
great social division. From the first great social division of labor
arose the first great cleavage of society into two classes; masters and
slaves, exploiters and exploited.
It is important to note that this is what happened among our own
people. This was thousands of years before we came in contact with
other races of people. It was this contradiction among ourselves that
weakened us so that we could be taken advantage by other people. We
think that it is important to go over this history because one of our
biggest weaknesses to this day is the oppression of African women by
African men.
When we look at our organizations today, we would find that African
women are not recognized as playing a leadership role in our main
organizations; even though women have played a key role in every
significant struggle that we have ever had. This is a clear
manifestation of the oppression of women. The exception to this rule
has been when women have formed women's organizations. And just as
there is a hatred of women; there is a hatred of women's organizations.
Let's not get confused. We are in no way aga
inst our men. True Women's
Emancipation can only be attained in the struggle of the whole people
against exploitation of any kind. A liberation struggle cannot be
afraid to talk about the weaknesses among the people. Our brother
Amilcar Cabral used to tell us, "Tell no lies, and claim no easy
victories".
One of the biggest crimes related to oppression and exploitation is
that it has a negative effect on the consciousness of the person that
is being oppressed and exploited. Women are the primary educators of
both the boys and girls of our nation. What bigger crime as a nation
can we commit against ourselves than to exploit the primary educators
of our nation and affect her consciousness in a negative way and
therefore affect our whole nation's consciousness in a negative way?
Everyone who loves Africa and African people must demand and insist
that our sisters be recognized for the leadership that they have always
displayed. Every organization that has a future will have women
leadership and the organizations that insist on our sisters not playing
a key leadership role will fade away and die. In traditional Africa
women represented life, as Africans we know that anything that is
anti-woman represents backwardness, evil, and death.
We are building an African Women's Movement for the sole purpose of the
liberation of our people and humanity. We know that there is a
difference betwe
en what is dominant and fading away versus what is very
small and coming into being, and in time will be dominant. The
organizations that have women and youth as leadership in them are the
ones that are small but coming into being and in the future will
dominate; the organizations that do not have women and youth in the
leadership are the ones that are dying no matter how dominate they may
seem now. African Women's and youth movements represent the life,
forward thinking, and love of the people. Those who come to be the most
conscious and most grateful will acknowledge that it was women who were
their primary educators, and leaders. Women will develop as leaders in
the women and youth movements and use their skills to organize the
bigger liberation struggle. It's in these movements that women and
youth leadership will not only be welcomed but insisted on because
these movements must represent the most conscious of our people. We
chose women because we chose life. We chose women because we know our
history and we know the positive history that we have had when women
were clearly in leadership positions. The African women's movement will
be dynamic. Women's leadership will not be fought against but to the
contrary fought for. We ask our women to be full of confidence and come
to understand our history because knowing the true history of women in
our struggle, makes us no other way but
full of confidence.
We welcome to come to solve our own problems by joining the movement,
join the AFRICAN WOMEN'S CHARITY ORGANIZATION!!
----- End forwarded message -----
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Message From Midlands State University P Bag 9055,Gweru,Zimbabwe
website: www.msu.ac.zw
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"I want people to remember me as someone whose life has been helpful to
humanity." Sankara
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