A Newsletter of the Association of African Women Scholars
Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 1997
A Newsletter of the Association of African Women Scholars
Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 1997
From the Headquarters
From the Headquarters...
We are pleased to bring to you the first issue of the AAWS Newsletter. Our young organization continues to take giant steps in creating an arena for much needed dialogue between scholars/activists inside Africa and those outside the continent. The enthusiastic response, particularly from scholars and activists living/working in the continent, is crucial in energizing and sustaining the dialogue. To a large extent, the interests and concerns of the continent-based membership determine the choice of materials for the newsletter (widely disseminated in Africa). AAWS has undertaken five initiatives: (1) the administration of an internet discussion group (open to members and non members) focusing on gender issues in Africa (see entry on this site for information on how to join); (2) the biennial African Women Bibliographies: A Global Project (the first volume covering 1999—2000 will be published in 2001); (3) co-sponsorship of the second international conference on "Women in Africa and the African Diaspora: Health and Human Rights" to be held in Indianapolis, IN, USA (October 23—27, 1998); (4) the AWPA (Against Widowhood Practices in Africa) Project; and (5) Book Drive for scholars and women's centers in Africa.As in this issue, future issues of the AAWS Newsletter will carry one or two short pieces (3—4 pages) on topical issues relating to African women. Recently published books on African women (Third World women, women in development, etc.) will continue to be listed under "Bookshelf." We appeal to authors and publishers to send us copies of their books for inclusion in "Bookshelf" and possible review (every issue will carry few book reviews). AAWS is collecting books for women's centers in Africa and books received will be shipped to the centers after listing and review in the AAWS Newsletter. The next issue of the AAWS Newsletter will be published in Spring 1998.
Obioma Nnaemeka, President
Note: The AAWS Newsletter is issued twice a year (Fall and Spring). Submission deadline for Fall issue is July 15 and for the Spring issue March 15. Send submissions to the Publicity Secretary: Dr. Opportune Zongo, Department of Romance Languages, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA. Phone: (419) 372-7396, fax: (419) 372-7332, e-mail: ozongo@bgnet.bgsu.edu
GENDER ROLES IN THE SUDANESE CONFLICT
Sidiga Washi (Sudan)
With 2.5 million square kilometers of land mass, Sudan is the largest country in Africa. The country is characterized by its diverse geographical and climatic conditions ranging from desert in the north to tropical rain forest and swamps in the south. Arabic is the official and dominant language. Islam is the major religion in the north and Christianity and other belief systems dominate in the southern parts. The country was hardly hit by drought during the 1980s resulting in massive migration of people from Western Sudan to the middle parts. The civil war in the south has aggravated the problem with a high influx of displaced people to the north. Southern Sudan has experienced civil strife for nearly 28 of the 40 years since independence. The eruption and continuation of the civil conflict can be traced to a number of cultural and historical factors as well as to developments during the post-independence period. Failure to establish an acceptable regional autonomy and control periodic violence resulted in a civil war towards the end of the 1960s. The situation improved with the signing of the Addis Ababa agreement in 1972. However a complex set of factors including the limited success in realizing the clauses of the agreement led to the eruption of the present phase of the conflict in 1983.
The civil war has eroded the normal family support systems that enable family members to cope with stress, leading to anxiety and a number of behavioral disorders. About one in four women in the southern sector is estimated to be the de facto head of household, working about seventeen hours a day on the average to ensure her family's survival. There is less social control and discipline and widowed mothers are on the rise, as are sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection. A disturbing element of the interfactional fighting is the sexual abuse inflicted on female captives. Many instances of conflict are reported in pastoral groups between widows and male relatives over ownership of cattle. While cattle remains a major source of food security for dependents, it is often sold by men to increase their wealth and procure additional wives. The majority of officials at all levels of the social hierarchy are men. Women have little decision making power and their participation in political processes, including negotiations for peace, is limited.
Southern women in displaced camps in the northern parts of the country also have a low status and special vulnerability. A study conducted in 1992 by the National Population Committee and CARE revealed that about 50% of the population in Khartoum camps for the displaced were women, 46.9% of the members of the households were children, and 16% of the women were heads of household. The women depend on relief rations, petty-trading and brewing of illicit liquor for their survival (an activity that exposes them to arrest and imprisonment). Few women in the camps have productivity skills or the ability to market their products effectively. The availability of relief and the lack of viable alternatives for economic self sufficiency have created dependency on aid. About 9 in 10 children in the age group 6 to 14 in the displaced camps do not attend school due to the inadequacy of existing educational facilities and the dependence of families for their survival on the employment of children. According to another survey by the Sudan Council of Churches, about 1 in 4 children are in the labor force engaged in the informal sector in activities such as car-washing, vending in the market, and street-hawking (especially cigarettes). Many children (girls, in particular) work as domestic servants. Children tend to be exploited, overworked and underpaid.
Many Southern men are either engaged in the combat or have fled to neighboring countries. The rest live as displaced persons in northern Sudan where they are engaged in menial jobs or work in the agricultural fields. Few are settled enough to live a normal life with their families. In addition to the Sudanese government army that is engaged in the fighting down in the south, there are also the Sudanese public defense forces and what is known as Mojahedin. These are mostly young men some of whom were killed leaving their families to struggle for survival. Widows are supported through the family support system but most of the time, they have to cope alone with their new situation.
During the past few years women have been called for a jihad. They do not actually go to the war zone but rather encourage their men to fight. They collect money, food and support for the Mojahedin and the government armed forces. Moreover, some women pushed their sons to the war zones thinking that this will ensure their way to paradise. Women were the most hardly hit socially and economically by the civil conflict with the loss of their husbands, sons, brothers or relatives. Throughout the history of the Sudanese conflicts (except for the last few years) women have always advocated for peace. Although, they have always been excluded from peace negotiations, they have tried to participate in many peace activities run by non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
It is high time the women in the north were enlightened about the reality of this war in order to engage them in peace-making efforts rather than war-making activities. We cannot deny the obstacles that such efforts will face contrary to what we hear in the media about internal peace efforts. No single institution can solve the problem; what is needed are collective effort and collective leadership. No single institution has the capacity to outreach grassroots women. It is necessary to start with women leaders and convince them to play an active role in the peace efforts.
In conclusion, women can play a vital role in both war-making and peace-building. It is necessary to make use of women's energy and their dedication to peace to help resolve the protracted Sudanese civil conflict. The continuation of the dialogue among Sudanese women and a strong network between Sudanese women and other women living under conflict can also facilitate peace-making efforts. As Mrs. Carter rightly noted, "When men do put down their guns, it is the women who work in rebuilding and restoring the war-torn families and homes."
CALL FOR PAPERS
Africa Today has issued a call for papers. Readers are requested to submit both scholarly articles of a high standard and reflective pieces on pressing contemporary issues. These submissions may range widely across topics in anthropology, economics, politics, human rights, history, philosophy, sociology, science, ecology, development, popular culture, literature, and the arts. Studies that explore global processes and those that compare Africa and other parts of the world are welcomed. Discussion, debate, and readers' reactions are encouraged by the publication. Length requirements are flexible. Manuscripts may be sent to: Angélique Haugerud, Editor, Africa Today, c/o Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver, 2201 S. Gaylord Street, Denver, CO 80208, USA. Phone: 303-871-3678, fax: 303-871-2456, e-mail: ahaugeru@du.eduContributions to a forthcoming volume, African Women's Education at the Threshold of the 21st Century: Changes and Challenges, are invited on the broad topic of education of African girls and women covering fields and disciplines such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, public policy, economics, communications, women's studies, and history. This collection will be devoted primarily to original investigations (especially papers generated by scholars and practitioners in sub-Saharan Africa) that contribute new knowledge and understanding of women's education in Africa. Suitable topics may include ( but are not restricted to): primary education, science/ technology education, literacy education, curriculum and teaching, and gender equity issues. Papers (not to exceed 20 pages in length including references) may be written in either English or French. For more information contact the Editor: Susan Frazier-Kouassi, SADAOC, 06 B.P. 9256, Ouagadougou 06, Burkina Faso. Phone/fax: 226-36-57-13.
Atlantis, a women's studies journal published in Canada has sent out a call for papers for a Fall 1998 special issue on "Sexualities and Feminisms." The journal welcomes papers on a broad range of theoretical, disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives on themes such as feminism and queer theory; intersections of racism, sexism and heterosexism; oral and archival histories; gender regulation; etc. Send four copies of your manuscript to the coeditors: Janice Ristock and Catherine Taylor, Atlantis, Mount saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Canada B3M 2J6. For contributors' guidelines and other inquiries, contact the Atlantis office: atlantis@msvu.ca
The editors of a forthcoming interdisciplinary volume titled The Black Female Body in American Culture seek contributions that examine how race—especially blackness—and gender affect theorizing. Contributions should address the major arguments of significant works about the female body (e.g., Susan Bordo's Unbearable Weight and Hazel Carby's Policing the Black Female Body in an Urban Context). Contact: Kimberly Sanders, Box 115, 350 Spelman Lane SW, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA 30314-4399, USA. Phone: (404) 223-7526, fax: (404) 223-7665, e-mail: ksanders@spelman.edu
The editor of a proposed collection of essays, Dimensions of Contemporary African Development Strategies has issued an invitation for contributions on various development issues including international trade, international aid, regional integration, non governmental organizations, political governance, environmental ecosystem and country case studies on above topics. Send a one-page proposal to: Wamukota F. Wambalaba, Box 1952, Portland, OR 97207, USA. Ph: (503) 725-5083, fax: (503) 725-4882, francis@nhl.nh.pdx.edu
Feminist Teacher is looking for contributors. Manuscripts should be sent in triplicate, with the author's name, address, and institutional affiliation on the cover page only (please do not put your name on any text pages). Manuscripts should follow the format specified in the journal's "Guidelines for Authors" (available upon request), and be accompanied by a return envelope and return postage. The "Guidelines for Authors" is generally consistent with the MLA Handbook and/or the MLA style Book (4th Edition). Please send manuscripts or requests for further information to: Theresa D. Kemp, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of English, 217 Humanities Building, 900 South 13th Street, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA. Requests for information only may be e-mailed to TKEMP@UAB.EDU (manuscripts will not be accepted electronically).
Submissions are solicited for a special issue of Gender and History on "Feminisms and Internationalism" slated for publication in 1998. The editors seek essays addressing the theme of the history of internationalism in feminist theory and praxis. Essays should be around 9,000 words in length. To submit a manuscript, send three copies with an abstract and a separate title page with name, address, and contact information by December 15, 1997 to M. Sinha, North American Co-Editor, Gender and History, Department of History, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL 62901, USA. Phone: (618) 453-4391, fax: (618) 453-5440, e-mail: Sinha@SIU.EDU
The Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering publishes original, peer-reviewed papers that report innovations, scientific studies, and formulation of concepts related to the education, recruitment, and retention of underrepresented groups in science and engineering. For more information, contact the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. E-mail: jrlwmse@vt.edu
The Journal of Women's History is soliciting papers on "Women and Fundamentalism: Perspectives on the New Religious Politics," to be guest-edited by Nikki R. Keddie and Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi. The journal is particularly interested in works on current and past "fundamentalist" movements such as Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity and those analyzing women and religious politics in the past. Send four copies of your manuscript (10,000 words including endnotes) by September 1, 1997 to Fundamentalism Issue: Journal of Women's History, Ohio State University, Department of History, 230 W. 17th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
SIGNS: Journal of Women in Culture and Society invites submissions for a special issue on "Institutions, Regulations, and Social Control" scheduled to be published in Summer 1999. Manuscripts should address among others the ways in which lived experience is influenced by social, political, economic institutions and how processes and experiences of regulations differ by genders, races, ethnicities, classes, sexualities, and nationalities. Send five copies of manuscript no later than October 31, 1997 to SIGNS, "Institutions, Regulation, and Social Control," Box 354345, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
The editors of Sisterhoods across the Literature/Media Divide Film/Fiction seek submissions for volume 2 in the series. For more information contact: Deborah Cartmell or Heidi Kaye, Department of English, Media, and Cultural Studies, School of Humanities, Gateway House, De Montfort University, Leicester LEI 9BH, United Kingdom. E-mail: hkaye@dmu.ac.uk or djc@dmu.ac.uk
Women's Studies: An International Journal invites submissions for a special issue on "Women and Music" to be published in Spring 1998. Each manuscripts should be no more than 8,000 words long (MLA style required). Submit manuscript in duplicate accompanied by a one- to two-page abstract and a self-addressed, stamped envelope by August 15, 1997 to Maureen O'Connor, Women's Studies: An International Journal. Department of English, Claremont Graduate School, 170 E. 10th St., Claremont, CA 91711, USA.
CONFERENCES
October 15—18, 1997. An international conference on literature by women of African descent, Yari Yari Black Women Writers and the Future, will be held at New York University and other New York City sites. Co-sponsored by the Organization of Women Writers of Africa, Inc. (OWWA), NYU African Studies Program, and the Institute of Afro-American Affairs, the conference promises an impressive gathering of women writers of African descent—Maya Angelou, Gloria Naylor, Ama Ata Aidoo, Nancy Morejon, Octavia Butler, Buchi Emecheta, Julie Dash, Lorna Goodison, Charlayne Hunter Gault, Maryse Condé, Micere Mugo, Edwidge Danticat, Sappire, Jayne Cortez, etc. For more information, contact OWWA or NYU African Studies Program—Phone: (212) 998-2130, fax: (212) 995-4109.October 16—17, 1997. An international conference Transforming Knowledge for a Changing World: Internationalizing Gender /Engendering the International will be held at the University of Maryland University College. The Women's Studies Department, the Office of International Affairs, and the Curriculum Transformation Project are pleased to invite interested scholars, students, administrators, policymakers, and activists to this conference that will feature discussion of key issues for women internationally in a changing world, and strategies and resources for integrating these issues into the curriculum. The conference, sponsored by the Ford Foundation and various campus units, will include both plenary sessions and interactive panels and workshops led by noted scholars and participants in previous components of the project. For registration materials (available in August), contact: Deborah Rosenfelt, Professor of Women's Studies and Director, Curriculum Transformation Project. Phone: (301)405-6883, e-mail dr49@umail.umd.edu
October 31—November 2, 1997. The organizers of the seventh national American Women Writers of Color conference (Sheraton Hotel, Ocean City, MD) invite individual, panel and round table submissions on all aspects of scholarship of 19th century and 20th century American Women Writers of Color. Please include the following information: Phone number for work and home, e-mail address, university affiliation, university status (full-time faculty, part-time faculty, graduate student).Send 300-word individual or panel abstracts to C. Richards (clrichards@ssu.edu) or Judith Pike(jepike@ssu.edu), Department of English, Salisbury State University, 1101 Camden Avenue, Salisbury, MD. 21801-6860, USA. Phone: (410) 543-6445.
November 18—21, 1997. An interdisciplinary, international workshop on Women on the Threshold of the 21st Century will be held in Havana, Cuba. Submit an abstract of no more than 200 words to Norma Vasallo, Catedra de la Mujer, Universidad de La Habana, San Rafael No. 1168 esquina Mazon, Ciudad Habana, Cuba, Zona 4 Codigo Postal 10400. Phone: (537) 704617 or (537) 704923, fax: (537) 335774 or (537)335960, e-mail: postmast@psico.uh.cu
November 28—29, 1997. An international interdisciplinary conference on Sociocultural Critique & (Auto)biography- Narrating Selves and Other: Feminist Theory in Practice is being co-sponsored by the Universities of Antwerp and Nijmegen. Phone: 00-32-3-8202850, fax: 00-32-3-8202882, bremsmar@uia.ua.ac.be
March 26—28, 1998. The Journal of African Travel-Writing will sponsor a panel at the annual Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers conference to be held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Inquiries and one- to two-page abstract related to women writers and African travel may be directed to JATW or to the conference organizers. Papers accepted for inclusion in the panel will also be considered for publication in JATW. Contact: The Journal of African Travel-Writing, P. 0. Box 346, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA. E-mail: ottotwo@email.unc.edu Web-site: http: //www.unc.edu/~ottotwo
June 28—July 1, 1998. The second international conference on Crossroads in Cultural Studies will be held in Tampere, Finland. The theme is "Borders and Border-crossings" but conference organizers will also accept other related topics that will interest an international audience. Conference homepage: http://www.uta.fi/crossroads/ Crossroads in Cultural Studies, Tampere Conference Service, P. O. Box 32, 33201 Tampere, Finland. Phone: 358-3-3664400, fax: 358-3-2226440, e-mail: iscsmail@uta.fi
June 30—July 2, 1998. A conference on Women and Human Rights, Social Justice, and Citizenship: International Historical Perspectives, organized by the International Federation for Research in Women's History will be held in Melbourne, Australia. Proposals are invited for presentations on historical understandings, across time and place, of the experiences of women relating to human rights, social justice and citizenship. Proposals could either be for individual papers or panels. Panels should consist of two or three presenters and a chair/ commentator. Roundtables should consist of three to five speakers. Proposals should include the paper title, a short vita, and an abstract. Proposals can be sent to the conference coordinator: Professor Patricia Grimshaw, History Dept., University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3052, Australia.
October 7—8, 1998. The Women's History Faculty at the Graduate Center, CUNY, invites proposals to re-examine existing paradigms and explore emerging ones in the field at a conference to be held in New York City. To ensure a wide array of current scholarship, established scholars are urged to apply in pairs with a graduate student or recent Ph. D. Graduate students and junior faculty are encouraged to apply individually if necessary. Instead of panels where papers are read and critiqued, the format will be working seminars where the presenters discuss new issues and methodologies which have arisen in women's history in the 1990s. The focus will be on recent scholarship and how it has changed previous conceptions or given rise to new concerns. We are especially interested in approaches which question accepted temporal and national historical divisions. Proposals should be sent to: Professor Bonnie S. Anderson, The Ph. D. Program in History, City University of New York Graduate Center, 33 West 42nd Street, New York, NY. 10036, USA.
October 23—27, 1998. The 2nd international conference on Women in Africa and the African Diaspora: Health and Human Rights will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The conference will dovetail the series of activities planned by the city of Indianapolis to celebrate Africa in 1998 ("Africa Celebration '98", January—August, 1998). In addition to a diverse representation of participants from Europe and North America, a strong contingent of individuals, women's organizations, and agencies (local and international) operating in Africa is expected at the conference. Contact: Obioma Nnaemeka, Convenor, Second WAAD Conference, French & Women's Studies, CA 001C, Indiana University, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. Phone: (317) 278-2038, (317) 274-0062 (messages), fax: (317) 274-2347, e-mail: nnaemeka@iupui.edu.
WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS AND FUNDING AGENCIES
Association of African Women for Research and Development/Association des femmes africaines pour la recherche sur le développement (AAWORD/AFARD) is a Dakar-based, continent-wide, bilingual (publications in English and French) African women's organization devoted to promoting research on African women and development issues. For more information, please contact: AAWORD/AFARD, c/o CODESRIA, B. P. 3304, Dakar, Senegal. Phone: 221-25-25-72, fax: 221-24-12-89.American Association of University Women (AAUW) promotes education and equity for women and girls through research, fellowships and grants, activism, voter education, and support for sex discrimination lawsuits. Contact: American Association of University Women, 1111 16th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20036, USA. Phone: (202) 785-7700, fax: (202) 872-1425, TDD: (202) 785-7777, e-mail: info@mail.aauw.org
Akina Mama wa Afrika is a London-based non-governmental development organization for African women. It has a regional office in Kampala, Uganda, where it runs a leadership institute. Contact: Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Akina mama wa Afrika, 4 Wild Court, London, WC2B 4AU, U. K. Phone: 44-171-4050678, fax: 44-171-8313947, e-mail: amwa@greenet.apc.org
The Association of African Women Scholars (AAWS) is an organization open to African women and men (academicians, independent scholars, activists, policy makers, and graduate students) everywhere committed to engendering and promoting scholarship in all disciplines in African Women's Studies, forging intellectual links and network with scholars, activists, and policy makers inside and outside Africa, participating actively in continental and global debate on issues specifically relevant or related to African women, and arranging/sponsoring conferences, seminars, and other forms of scholarly interchange. AAWS facilitates an internet discussion group that is open to anyone (member or non-member) interested in discussing African women's issues. Requests to join can be made on the internet through LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU by sending the following message: SUBSCRIBE AFWOSCHO [your name]. For further information, contact Obioma Nnaemeka, President AAWS, Women's Studies Program, Indiana University, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. Phone: (317) 278-2038, (317) 274-0062 (messages), fax: (317) 274-2347, e-mail: nnaemeka@iupui.edu
The Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) is an association of feminist researchers and activists committed to understanding the relationship between the oppression of women and other forms of exploitation in the society and to working actively for change. Contact: CAFRA, P. O. Bag 442, Tunapuna Post Office, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Phone: (809) 663-8670.
The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) is a voluntary, non-partisan, non-profit, self-funded bilingual organization of 10,000 women university graduates. Affiliated with the International Federation of University Women (IFUW/FIFDU), CFUW is committed to working to raise the social, economic, and legal status of women, as well as to improve education, the environment, peace, justice and human rights. For fellowship information, contact: Canadian Federation of University Women, Attention: Fellowships Chair, 251 Bank Street, Suite 600, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 1X3, Canada. Phone: (613) 234-2732,e-mail: bw725@freenet.carleton.ca
The African Women Development Communication Network (FEMNET) is a consortium of five subregional networks representing north, central, west, east, and southern Africa. FEMNET serves to strengthen the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with the integration of women in the development process in Africa. The consortium facilitates networking and puts in place mechanisms for monitoring projects that improve the lives of women. UNICEF hosts the FEMNET regional Secretariat. Contact: Njoki Wainaina, FEMNET, P. O. Box 54562, Nairobi, Kenya.
The Global Alliance for Women’s Health is committed to advancing women’s health in all of the life cycles at all policy levels through education, advocacy and program implementation. It is an alliance of international and national non-governmental organizations, health care professionals, women's groups, religious organizations, academicians, and individual citizens from all of the regions of the world who are committed to improving health care services and research for women's health at the local, national and international levels. Contact: Global Alliance for Women’s Health, 777 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Phone: (212) 286-0424, fax: (212) 286-9561, e-mail: gawh@igc.apc.org
The Global Fund for Women is an international organization which focuses on female human rights. It supports issues as diverse as literacy, domestic violence, economic autonomy, and the international trafficking of women, among others. It supports women’s groups based outside of the US by providing financial and other resources, developing and strengthening links among women’s groups worldwide, and heightening awareness of the needs and strengths of women. Contact: The Global Fund for Women, 425 Sherman Avenue, Suite 300, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA. Phone: (415) 853-8305, fax: (415) 328-0384, e-mail: gfw@globalfundforwomen.org
The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting social and economic development with women's full participation. ICRW generates quality, empirical information and technical assistance on women’s productive and reproductive roles, their status in the family, their leadership in society, and their management of environmental resources. ICRW advocates with governments and multilateral agencies, convenes experts in formal and informal forums, and engages in an active publications and information program to advance women’s rights and opportunities. ICRW focuses principally on women in developing & transition countries. Contact: International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 302, Washington, DC 20036, USA. Phone: (202) 797-0007, fax:(202)797-0020, e-mail: icrw@igc.apc.org
Institute for Research and Education of Women in Africa and the Diaspora (IREWAD) is an Abidjan-based non governmental organization whose Newsbrief (published in English and French) encourages the dissemination of information on the education of girls and women in Africa. Contact: Susan Frazier-Kouassi, IREWAD, 08 B. P. 1728, Abidjan 08, Côte d’Ivoire. Phone/fax: (225) 47-55-90.
The Moroccan Women Association in the United States is a nonprofit philanthropic organization whose goals are to encourage networking and promote leadership among Moroccan women, encourage cultural exchanges between Moroccan women and other women's groups, and support groups that help Moroccan children. Contact the association at usunfm@maghreb.net
Solid Africa is a non-profit small-business development project that supports the economic empowerment of women in Africa, particularly women in Mozambique. It supports women who are already in business by enhancing their access to credits, funds, technologies, marketing, management and training. It encourages networking and exchange of ideas and practical experiences with universities, non-profit organizations, international development agencies, foundations and corporations. Contact: 160 Cabrini Blvd. # 131, New York, NY 10033, USA. Phone: (212) 923-3980, fax: (212) 927-6234, e-mail: solid@humanism.org
The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) provides direct support for women's projects and promotes the inclusion of women in the decision making process of development programs. UNIFEM works primarily in three areas: Agriculture and Food Security, Trade and Industry, and Macro Policy-Making and National Planning. Contact: United Nations Development Fund for Women, 304 East 45th Street, 6th floor, New York, NY 10017, USA. Phone: (212) 906-6400, fax: (212) 906-6705, Web: http://www.unifem.undp.org Gopher: gopher://gopher.undp.org/1/unifem, e-mail: unifem@undp.org UNIFEM Regional Contacts: Africa (East and South)—Gita Honyarna Welch, Harare, Zimbabwe (phone: 263-4-792-681/86). Africa (West and North)—Aster Zaoude, Dakar, Senegal (phone: 221-23-5207).
The Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS) has instituted three types of grants: (1) Travel Grants for Third World Women Scientists for participation in scientific meetings and short courses abroad, (2) grants for the publication of theses, (3) grants for national/regional publications. For application forms contact: The Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS), c/o The Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), P. O. Box 586, 34014 Trieste, Italy. Phone: (int.+39 40) 2240-1, fax:(int+39 40) 224559 or (+39 40) 224163, cable: CENTRATOM, telex: 460392 ICTP I, e-mail: twows@itsictp.bitnet
Women in Development Network (WID-N) is a Nigeria-based NGO that focuses on literacy programs for women and the plight of widows in Africa. Contact: Pat Okoye (President), 71 Owerri Road, Asata, Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria. Phone: (42) 557678.
Women Issues Communications Services Agency (WICSA) seeks to sensitize society on gender sensitivity through the mass media, establish a database, conduct and publish research on women and facilitate access to the media for women. Contact: Joy Keshi Ashibuogwu, Lintas, 6 Sylvia Crescent, Anthony Village, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. Phone: (1) 4971851 to 4971856, fax: (1) 4971857.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
A Directory of Gender Related Internet Resources for Academic Research compiled by Helen Fallon can be accessed at: http://www.dcu.ie/staff/hfallon/thesis.htm It has links to journals, electronic discussion lists, organizations, bibliographies, electronic texts; academic departments, research centers, programs, syllabi, libraries and other gender-related sites. It also has guides to creating home pages.New MA Program in Women's Studies. The University of East London announces a new full-time or part-time MA in Women's Studies. The MA focuses on Contemporary Feminist Theory; options include Feminist Theory and Visual Culture, Gender Science and Technology, and Feminism and the Women's Movement. For more information contact: Department of Cultural Studies, University of East London, Longbridge Road, Dagenham, Essex RM8 2AS, UK. Phone: 181-590-7000 ext. 2742.
Second International Conference on Women in Africa and the African Diaspora: Health and Human Rights, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. October 23—27, 1998
Health will be discussed not only as a physical and medical question but, in a broader sense, as a social issue; thus leaving room to debate health issues as they relate to the economy, education, human rights, militarization, the environment, the arts, ethnic conflicts, refugee problems, etc. in the context of global interdependence and international politics. For example, the campaign against female circumcision in Africa and the Arab world could be debated simultaneously as a health issue, a human rights question and an economic issue. One can also examine how health issues are imagined in the arts or how the health of the economy affects the health of artistic productions, etc. This announcement extends an invitation to agencies, researchers, students, activists, policy makers, and interested individuals—irrespective of gender, race, religious affiliation and national origin—to participate in the second WAAD conference. Deadline for the submission of a one-page abstract: March 15, 1998 (Acceptance of space after March 15 will depend on availability of space. Handwritten, faxed or e-mailed abstracts will not be accepted). Contact: Prof. Obioma Nnaemeka Convenor, Second WAAD Conference, Women’s Studies Program, Indiana University, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. Phone: (317) 278-2038, (317) 274-0062 (messages), fax: (317) 274-2347, e-mail: aaws@iupui.edu
E-MAIL LISTS & INTERNET ADDRESSES
AAWOMLIT is a forum for the discussion of the works of African-American women writers. To subscribe, send a request to LISTSERV@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDUAFRICA NEWS SERVICE is an excellent source for news about Africa. You can access its "Africa News Online" website at http://www.africanews.org
Africa Online (Karisi Communications)'s web page has a chat room for women at http://www.africaonline.com/AfricaOnline/women.html
Africa Online—Women's Page (Nairobi, Kenya) is an internet access provider for Kenya with a sister web site in the US run by Karisi Communications. The women's section has information on Kenyan women and is linked to the Radcliffe/Harvard. http://www.africaonline.co.ke/AfricaOnline/women.html
AFRICAW is an unmoderated forum for the discussion of African women's struggles inside and outside Africa. "African women" in this instance includes women of African descent in the Diaspora. To subscribe, send the message SUBSCRIBE AFRICAW to MAJORDOMO@CORSO.CCSU.CTSTATEU.EDU
AFRO-TECHIES is a forum for women of African descent who are interested in discussing various aspects of modern technology—from World Wide Web and software applications to hardware technologies and programming. Send subscription requests to AFRO-TECHIES-REQUEST@PERSEPHONE.HAMPSHIRE.EDU with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
AFWOSCHO is a discussion list for women and men (scholars, activists, policymakers, students) who are interested in African women's issues. The list is administered by the Association of African Women Scholars. To subscribe, send the message SUBSCRIBE AFWOSCHO [Your Name] to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
AWOGNET is a web-based organization that focuses on improving the living conditions of women and children in Africa. It has a web- site is at http://www.osu.edu/org/awognet For more information, contact: Okey Onyejekwe, Center for African Studies, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210. Phone: (614) 292-8169, e-mail: onyejekwe.1@osu.edu
EcoNews Africa is an non governmental organization (NGO) that analyses global environment and development issues from an African perspective and reports on local, national, and regional activities that contribute to global solutions. Send mail to EcoNews Africa, P. O. Box 76406, Nairobi, Kenya or visit their office: lst Floor, No. 27 Uchumi Road, Off Ole Shapara Avenue, Nairobi South "C," Kenya. Phone: +254-2-605127, fax: +254-2-604682, e-mail: econews@mukla.gn.apc.org, econews@tt.sasa.unep.no, econews@elci.sasa.unep.no, EcoNews Africa has a website at http://www.web.apc.org/~econews/ and also operates an electronic conference at econews.africa@ gn.apc.org and locally at econews.africa@mukla.gn.apc.org
The US-based National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) has a web page at http://www.ums1.edu/divisions/artscience/iwgs
Rural African Women's Food Fuel and Feed On Line Network (RAWFFOL), an internet newsletter that focuses on providing information technology to African rural women, is written for rural women and individuals, organizations and agencies that work with them. Send subscription requests to: eaftdc@seark.net with the message: Subscribe RAWFFOL African women who are interested in becoming country coordinators for this newsletter. should contact the editor/publisher, Carol Cross, at eaftdc@seark.net Subscribe for free Kenaf Newsletter with the message: SUBSCRIBE KENAFOL
Third World Women discusses issues related to the representations of Third World Women. To subscribe, send the message SUBSCRIBE THIRD-WORLD-WOMEN to MAJORDOMO@JEFFERSON.VILLAGE.VIRGINIA.EDU
Senegal's Ministère de la Femme, de l'Enfant et de la Famille is located on the official Senegal government web site. It has a list of the Ministry's publications. http://www.primature.sn/mfef/home.htm
UCLA Institute for the Study of Gender in Africa has a website with general information about the institute and its fellowships: http://www.isop.ucla.edu/jscasc/research/gender/htm
U. N. Women Watch provides information on women worldwide and serves as a forum for discussing women's issues. The Africa pages provide statistical data. Main site: http://www.un.org/womenwatch Africa page: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/africa.htm
Women's web has a directory of African women's organizations.
Women in Development Network (WIDNET) is an extensive source of information in English and French on women in development. It has a directory of women's organizations (including African organizations):http://www.synapse.net/~focusint/r1a.htm and statistics on women's education, health, labor, population, etc.: http://www.synapse.net/~focusint/statr1a.htm
FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS
Grant information on the internet
Many sites on the internet supply grant information free of charge. With telnet capability, you can easily access the following sites: (2) The Federal Education Information Service (FEDIX) links academicians, researchers, etc. with the federal government. For information about grants, scholarships, fellowships, etc., telnet to FEDIX.FIE.COM. At the login prompt, type "new". Select 1. FEDIX at the main menu. (1) To access the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Information System (STIS) telnet to STIS.NSF.GOV. At the login prompt, type "public". (3) Minority On-Line Information Service (MOLIS) provides information on resources for minorities. To access MOLIS, telnet to FEDIX.FIE.COM. At the login prompt, type "new". Select 2. MOLIS. (4) HERO—The Higher Education Opportunities for Minorities and Women provides information on resources for women and minorities in higher education. To access the Higher Education Opportunities for Minorities and Women (HERO), telnet to FEDIX.FIE.COM. At the login prompt, type "new". Select 3. HERO.The National Association of Women in Education gives yearly research awards of $750 for manuscripts in two categories: the Graduate Student Competition and the Open Competition. Research for manuscripts may be on any topic relevant to the education and personal and professional development of women and girls. Submissions are due yearly on October 1. For more information contact: Anna Roman-Koller, Asst. Chair, Women's Research Awards Committee, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 701 Scaife Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. Ph: (412) 648-9466, e-mail: koller@al.isd.upmc.edu (inquiries only).
The Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College awards yearly dissertation and research grants, visiting scholar appointments, and Pforzheimer Fellowships for undergraduate women. For more information on these awards and deadlines for applications contact: Anne-Marie Seltzer, Media Relations, Office of Communications, Radcliffe College, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Phone: (617) 496-3063.
Research Fellows are needed for an ongoing work in Ghana on fertility change, with special attention to diffusionist explanations. Post-doctoral appointments will be made, but pre-docs are also a possibility. These appointments will be attached to the Population Council in New York but the individuals will be posted to one of two institutions in Ghana: the University of Cape Coast, or the Navrongo Health Research Center. In both locations, research focuses on longitudinal data collection on the role of social networks and social interaction in fertility change, with funding from Rockefeller and NIH. The scope of work for Research Fellows encompasses everything from design of data collection instruments to management of household-level data collection to collaboration in the data analysis and the writing of papers. First priority for these positions is assistance in data collection, so individuals who are keen to get some on-the-ground experience in demographic fieldwork are sought. Appointments can be made immediately, but January 1998 is not too late. There is no closing date; the recruitment will continue until the positions are filled. The appointments will be one-year, renewable for another year or two. Those wishing to apply should forward a c.v., a letter describing relevant experience and skills, and two letters of recommendation to John Casterline or Caroline Bledsoe at the Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, 1810 Hinman Ave., Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA. Phone: (847) 491-4825.
The Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowships support graduate students from various fields whose research focus on the improvement of education. Each year, the foundation awards thirty non-renewable fellowships of $17,000 that must be expended within a time limit of two years. Applicants for the 1998 fellowship must be Ph. D. candidates at a graduate school in the United States (although they need not be US citizens) and must have completed all pre-dissertation requirements by June 1, 1998. Applications must be supported by a current graduate school transcript, letters of reference, a brief personal statement, a dissertation abstract, and a narrative discussion of and work plan for the dissertation. Requests for required application forms must be received by October 10, 1997. Completed applications must be postmarked by October 22, 1997. Awards will be announced in April 1998. For more information contact: Spencer Dissertation Fellowships, The Spencer Foundation, 900 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2800, Chicago, IL 6061-11542, USA. Phone: 312-337-7000.
US Institute of International Peace Senior Fellowship. October 1, 1997 is the deadline for applying for the 1998-99 Senior Fellowship competition sponsored by the Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace. For more information, contact: Jennings Randolph Program, US Institute of Peace, 1550 M Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005, USA. Phone: (202) 429-3886, fax: (202) 429-6063, e-mail: jrprogam@usip.org
Women's Dissertation Fellowships. The Coordinating Council of Women in History and the Berkshire Conference on Women Historians will award two $500 Graduate Student Awards to assist in dissertation work. Application deadline is September 15, 1997. Contact: Janice M. Leone, Award Committee, Dept. of History, Middle Tennessee State University, Box 23, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA.
Woodrow Wilson Fellowships. Applications for the 1998-99 Woodrow Wilson Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences are now available. Deadline is October 1, 1997. Contact: Fellowships Office, Woodrow Wilson Center, 1000 Jefferson Drive SW, SI MRC 022, Washington, DC 20560, USA. Phone: (202) 357-2841, fax:(202) 357-4439, e-mail: wcfellow@sivm.si.edu
The WorldWID Fellowship Program provides a unique opportunity for US citizens who are technical experts in a wide range of fields related to the USAID's (United States Agency for International Development's) strategic concerns with (1) democracy, governance, legal, and human rights; (2) economic growth; (3) girl's primary education; (4) environment; (5) health, population and nutrition to increase their understanding of Women in Development (WID) issues and gender analysis and to apply this knowledge to the performance of WID-related tasks in a USAID office or field mission overseas. Normal appointment is for 12 months although shorter appointments will be considered. Fellowship includes a monthly stipend of $2500, domestic and international travel, as well as some support for overseas living expenses. Fellows must demonstrate strong institutional support and a position to return to after completion of the fellowship. Minority participation is actively encouraged. Deadlines are March 1, 1997 and March 1, 1998. Contact: WorldWID, Office of International Studies and Programs, P. O. Box 113225, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. Phone: (352) 392-7074, fax:(352) 392-8379, e-mail: Wrldwid@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu
Yale University Program in Agrarian Studies Program will award four to six post-doctoral fellowships for the period September 1998-May 1999. Deadline is January 2, 1998. Contact: James C. Scott, Program in Agrarian Studies, Yale University, Box 208300, New Haven, CT 06520-8300, USA. Fax: (203) 432-5036.
BOOK REVIEWS
J. Nozipo Maraire. Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter. New York, Crown Pub., 1996. 194 pages. $20.00. ISBN 0-517- 70242-8. Reviewed by Pamela Smith, University of Nebraska, Omaha.
"Aluta continua," the slogan for the revolution in much of southern Africa, is a befitting theme for this mother-to-daughter clarion call to "remember" in order to know and be, for it is in knowing what makes one that one then knows how to be, how to absorb "multiple frames of reality." Thus, the essence of a mother's legacy to her daughter as she enters a new world, leaving her native Zimbabwe to study at Harvard University, USA.A long, reflective letter, Zenzele is a mother's retrospection and her reminiscences of her restless, inquisitive daughter's growing up years. Born of premonition and thoughts about the transitoriness of life, Zenzele bears home truths for the realities of living in the real, unnatural world of racism, of color consciousness; importantly, it is lessons in what it means to be an African, an African woman abroad. It is the natural exchange between generations, each enriched and enriching—the older feeling inadequate and obsolete as it struggles with the effects of change and modernity, the younger, idealistic, charging full force into the future. Zenzele is necessarily a "curious distillation of traditional African teaching, social commentary, and maternal concern," a cultural, maternal legacy, told and passed on with love and exultation by a mentor-guide mother. Through reminiscences of her own growing up experiences—from puberty to the giddiness of adolescence love to facing loss from sudden death of a first love to mature love, marriage and family to—she recounts one recollection after another, deftly interweaving history with memories.
Made all the more immediate, intimate and forceful by the discovery of a strange, yet undiagnosed strength-sapping "growth" the doctors discovered, this lyrical "lessons of life" legacy is replete with home truths ranging from the "post-colonial syndrome" of cultural bleaching that produces tragic "been-tos" like Mukoma Byron who sell their souls to Western icons, to political activism; from the topic of love—that "beautiful and mysterious event"—to the revolutionary war; from wife abuse to ruminations on metaphysics and "staying at peace within." The language is poignant, simple, and laced with humor and pathos especially evident in cousin Tinawo, the maid-turned-spy's long account of her exploits as a female freedom fighter and in Mukoma Byron's tragic transformation from sadza-eating Byron Makoni to pipe-sucking, tea-at-ten-and-four, Englishman, Byron Makon. The tone is conversational, one of ease, providing a sense of immediacy and connectedness despite the ever present sense of geographic distance.
For Zimbabwean women writers, the incubation period is over, so to speak. Renaissance women indeed, these writers are emerging from the woodwork, their artistic and creative talents fully shored up with formal academic and professional preparation. With fellow country women and writers, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Yvonne Vera, Maraire joins the rising ranks of Zimbabwe women writers with successful first novels. A neuro-surgeon, trained at Harvard, Columbia and Yale—certainly America's very best—Maraire has successfully combined professional studies with literary and creative talent, actively practicing medicine and nurturing her artistic and creative bent through art collection and writing.
Yvonne Vera. Without a Name. Harare, Zimbabwe. Baobab (African Books Collective, dist.). 1994. 103 pages. $8.50. ISBN 0-908311-78-8. Reviewed by Pamela Smith, University of Nebraska, Omaha.
A relatively newcomer to the literary scene, Yvonne Vera of Zimbabwe joins the rising ranks of Zimbabwean writers and African women writers, earning her place with promising academic and literary credentials. Vera is the author of two works, a volume of short stories, Why Don't You Carve Other Animals (1992), and a poetic novel, Nehanda (1993), both short-listed for the Regional Commonwealth Writers Award in 1993 and 1994 respectively. A third publication, Without a Name, followed in 1994, also short-listed for a Regional Commonwealth Prize for best work of fiction in 1994 and named First-Prize Winner of the Zimbabwe Book Publisher's Association Annual literary Awards. These achievements, all within a three-year period, delineate the artistic talent and the potential prolificacy of this young, rising writer.A gripping, compelling novel, written in poetic prose, Without a Name is the story of one woman's endurance and survival in war-torn Zimbabwe. The year is 1977. Set in the historical context of pre-independence Zimbabwe, against a backdrop of insensitive colonialism and the guerrilla warfare to unseat it, Vera paints the picture of the dispossession of native Zimbabweans and their struggle to maintain faith in the land, its dream and its inclusive histories of the people.
Mazvita, a strong, freedom-seeking but naive woman, seeks refuge in the city. Leaving her rural Mubaira and the security of Ndenyedzi's love because she no longer believes in the promise of the land, Mazvita sets out on a journey of dreams, searching for freedom and new beginnings. The land, poisoned by acts of war, becomes maleficent. Instead of the freedom and refuge she seeks in the city, away from the land which seems to have forgotten its people because "it dreams new dreams for itself," Harare offers its own horrors and perils, its own warfare, unleashing false hope too readily, too soon.
The "journey" itself is portentous, fraught with the burden of fear—with the reality of rape and the dangerous search for "new dreams to replace...ancient claim(s)" in the city where one could not even trust one's own shadow, in a city where "[d]eath, properly executed, could be mistaken for progress." Pregnant upon arrival, burdened with motherhood and dreams unrealized seven months later, and her fate in disarray, Mazvita murders her unnamed child—Ndenyedzi's child—in a moment of despair and madness, mistaking her resolve for kindness. Since "[s]he knew about departures because she had mistaken them for beginnings," her passion for beginnings yields a sour harvest; her lack of patience and hope results in nightmarish dreams. Freedom becomes indefinable, unattainable when new, shallow dreams are sought to replace ancient claims promised by the land which "defines ...unities." But it is 1977. Mazvita returns to Muraibi, the place of her beginning, broken and brutalized, to bury her child.
Vera's style is terse, poetic, almost academic; her metaphoric language suggestive, suspenseful, compelling. Her audience is clearly western-oriented in the sense that Without a Name does not show readily strains of the oral tradition. Thirty-three short, one-, two-page chapters—the longest five pages long—of terse but dense, poetic, image-laden language depict rather than tell about anguish, poverty and suffering. The repetition of the year 1977 looms large, and is evocative. A fine work of fiction, indeed.
BOOKSHELF
Accad, Evelyne. Transl. Cynthia T. Hahn, Wounding Words : A Woman's Journal in Tunisia. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1997.
Afshar, Haleh, ed. Women and Politics in the Third World. London: Routledge, 1996.
Afshar, Haleh, ed. Empowering Women: Illustrations from the Third World. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
Anderson, Mary. Intr. Development and Social Diversity. Oxford: Oxfam, 1996.
Arnold, Marion. Women and Art in South Africa. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
Azikiwe, Uche, compl. Women in Nigeria: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1996.
Badejo, Diedre. Osun Seegesi: The Elegant Deity of Wealth, Power, and Femininity. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1996.
Baud, Isa and Ines Smyth, eds. Searching for Security: Women’s Responses to Economic Transformations. London: Routledge, 1997.Berg, Adri van den. Land Right, Marriage Left: Women's Engagement of Insecurity in North Cameroon. Leiden: CNWS Publications, 1997.
Bertoncini-Zubkova, Elena, ed. Vamps and Victims: Women in Swahili Literature. Koln: Rudiger Koppe Verlag, 1996.
Brinkman, Inge. Kikuyu Gender Norms and Narratives. Leiden: Research School, 1996.
Busia, Akosua. The Seasons of Beento Blackbird. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1996.
Buvinic, Mayra, Catherine Gwin, and Lisa Bates. Investing in Women: Progress and Prospects for the World Bank. Washington, DC: Overseas Development Council in Cooperation with the International Center for Research on Women, 1996.
Cooper, Barbara. Marriage in Maradi: Gender and Culture in a Hausa Society in Niger, 1900— 1989. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1997.
Coquery-Vidrovitch, Catherine. African Women: A Modern History. Transl. Beth Gillian Raps. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997.
Daoud, Zakya. Féminisme et politique au Maghreb: sept décennies de lutte. Casablanca: Eddif, 1996.
Daymond, M. J., ed. South African Feminisms : Writing, Theory, and Criticism, 1990—1994. New York: Garland Publishers, 1996.
Driver, Dorothy, Ann Dry, Craig MacKenzie, and John Read. Nadine Gordimer: A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources, 1937—1992. London: Hans Zell, 1996.
Durban Women’s Bibliography Group, compl. South Africa Women: A Select Bibliography. SAILA Bibliographical Series; 30) Braamfontein: South African Institute of International Affairs, 1996.
Egejuru, Phanuel, and Ketu Katrak, eds. Nwanyibu: Woman Being and African Literature. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1997.
Fair, Jo Ellen. The Body Politic, the Bodies of Women, and the Politics of Famine in US Television Coverage of Famine in the Horn of Africa. Columbia, SC: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 1996.
Foster, Gwendolyn. Women Filmmakers of the African and Asia Diaspora: Decolonizing the Gaze, Locating Subjectivity. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1997.
Ghorayshi, Parvin and Claire Bélanger, eds. Women, Work, and Gender Relations in Developing Countries: A Global Perspective. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Ghosh, Bishnupriya and Brinda Bose, eds. Interventions: The Feminist Dialogues on Third World Women’s Literature and Film. New York: Garland, 1997.
Goheen, Miriam. Men Own the Fields, Women Own the Crops : Gender and Power in the Cameroon Grassfields. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996.
Greene, Sandra. Gender, Ethnicity, and Social Change on the Upper Slave Coast: A History of the Anlo-Ewe. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996.
Grosz-Ngate, Maria and Omari H. Kokole, eds. Gendered Encounters: Challenging Cultural Boundaries and Social Hierarchies in Africa. New York: Routledge, 1997.
Haider, Raana. Gender and Development. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1996.
Heyzer, Noeleen, Sushma Kapoor and Joanne Sandler, eds. A Commitment to the World’s Women: Perspectives on Development for Beijing and Beyond. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press, 1996.
Hoehler-Fatton, Cynthia. Women of Fire and Spirit : History, Faith, and Gender in Roho Religion in Western Kenya. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Howson, Christopher, Polly Harrison, Dana Hotra, and Maureen Law, eds. In Her Lifetime: Female Morbidity and Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1996.
Hunt, Nancy , Tessie Liu, and Jean Quataert, eds. Gendered Colonialisms in African History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997.
Ibnlfassi, Laila, and Nicki Hitchcott, eds. African Francophone Writing : A Critical Introduction. Washington, DC: Berg Publishers, 1996.
Ibrahim, Huma. Bessie Head: Subversive Identities in Exile. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996.
Kaplan, Flora, ed. Queens, Queen Mothers, Priestesses, and Power: Case Studies in African Gender. New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1997.
Kendall, Limakatso, ed. Basali! : Stories by & about Women in Lesotho. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 1996.
Lawal, Babatunde. The Gelede Spectacle: Art, Gender, and Social Harmony in African Culture. Seattle, WA: Univ. of Washington Press, 1996.
Maman, Marie, and Thelma Tate. Women in Agriculture: A Guide to Research. New York: Garland, 1996.
Maraire, J. Nozipo. Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter. New York: Crown Publishers, 1996.
Mernissi, Fatima. Women’s Rebellion and Islamic Memory. London: Zed Books, 1996.
Meurant, Georges, and Robert Thompson. Mbuti Design : Paintings by Pygmy Women of the Ituri Forest. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1996.
Mikell, Gwendolyn, ed. African Feminism: The Politics of Survival in Sub-Saharan Africa. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
Moghadam, Valentine, ed. Patriarchy and Economic Development: Women’s Positions at the End of the Twentieth Century. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
Narayan, Uma. Dis-locating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third World Feminism. New York: Routledge, 1997.
Newell, Stephanie, ed. Writing African Women: Gender, Popular Culture and Literature in West Africa. London: Zed Books, 1997.
Ngara, Emmanuel, ed. New Writing from Southern Africa: Authors Who Have Become Prominent since 1980. London: James Currey, 1996.
Nnaemeka, Obioma, ed. The Politics of (M)Othering: Womanhood, Identity, and Resistance in African Literature. London: Routledge, 1997.
Nthunya, Mpho 'M'atsepo. Ed. K. Limakatso Kendall. Singing away the Hunger: Stories of a Life in Lesotho. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 1996.
Nussbaum, Martha and Jonathan Glover, eds. Women, Culture and Development: A Study of Human Capabilities. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Ogbomo, Onaiwu. When Men and Women Mattered: A History of Gender Relations among the Owan of Nigeria. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 1997.
Ogunyemi, Chikwenye Okonjo. Africa Wo/Man Palava: The Nigerian Novel by Women. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Olmstead, Judith. Woman Between Two Worlds : Portrait of an Ethiopian Rural Leader. University of Illinois Press, 1997.
Onwueme, Osonye Tess. Tell It to Women: An Epic Drama for Women. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1997.
Orford, Margie, and Nepeti Nicanor, eds. Coming on Strong: Writing by Namibian Women. Windhoek: New Namibia Books, 1996.
Owen, Margaret. A World of Widows. London: Zed Books, 1996.
Palriwala, Rajni, and Carla Risseeuw, eds. Shifting Circles of Support: Contextualizing Gender and Kinship in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 1996.
Rai, Shirin, and Geraldine Lievesley, eds. Women and the State: International Perspectives. Bristol, PA: Taylor & Francis, 1996.
Ramphele, Mamphela. Across Boundaries: The Journey of a South African Woman Leader. New York: Feminist Press, 1997.
Rosander, Eva Evers, ed. Transforming Female Identities: Women’s Organizational Forms in West Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, 1997.
Ruether, Rosemary, ed. Women Healing Earth: Third World Women on Ecology, Feminism, and Religion. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996.
Rwebangira, Magdalena. The Legal Status of Women and Poverty in Tanzania. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 1996.
Sabbagh, Suha, ed. Arab Women: Between Defiance and Restraint. New York: Olive Branch Press, 1996.
Schlyter, Ann, ed. A Place to Live: Gender Research on Housing in Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, 1996.
Sharpley-Whiting, Denean and Renée White. Spoils of War: Women of Color, Culture, and Revolution. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997.
Soiri, Iina. The Radical Motherhood: Namibian Women’s Independence Struggle. Helsinki: Institute of Development Studies, 1996.
Stringer, Susan. The Senegalese Novel by Women: Through Their Own Eyes. New York: Peter Lang, 1996.
Surdakasa, Niara. The Strength of Our Mothers: African and African American Women and Families—Essays and Speeches. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1997.
Umeh, Marie, ed. Emerging Perspectives on Buchi Emecheta. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1996.
Vera, Yvonne. Under the Tongue. Harare: Baobab Books, 1996.
Visvanathan, Nalini, Lynn Duggan, Laurie Nisonoff, and Nan Wiegersma, eds. The Women, Gender, and Development Reader. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Zed Books, 1996.
Wallman, Sandra. Kampala Women Getting by: Wellbeing in the Time of AIDS. Athens: Ohio State University Press, 1996.
Walters, Shirley, and Linzi Manicom. Gender in Popular Education. Belleville, South Africa: Center for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE), 1997.
Wieringa, Saskia, ed. Subversive Women: Women’s Movements in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. London: Zed Books, 1996.
Women’s Health Project. The South African Women’s Health Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
AAWS Newsletter prepared by Obioma Nnaemeka.Contact: Association of African Women Scholars, Women’s Studies Program, Indiana University, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. Phone: (317) 278-2038 or (317) 274-0062 (messages), fax: (317) 274-2347, e-mail: aaws@iupui.edu
web site: http://www.iupui.edu/~aaws/
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