The Effect of the Sub-Saharan African Gender Divide on the Rights and Status of Women in a Globalized World

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to a substantial gender divide that encompasses numerous aspects of life. Though this divide is a historic reality for Sub-Saharan Africa, the recent and current process of globalization has also had both negative and positive impacts on the gender divide. This paper provides a look at the gender divide in Sub-Saharan Africa from a theoretical and historical framework that goes on to explore various facets of life including economics, education, land tenure, legal rights, political participation, and health rights. In addition, one countermovement to the pervasive gender divide, African feminisms, is analyzed.