Women in pre-colonial Africa: Southern Africa

Abstract

The gender oppression school of historical analysis maintains that pre-colonial southern African women were confined in the domestic space and were oppressed by their men.Women are depicted as minors who needed protection and guidance from their male counterparts. Contrary to their narrative, this chapter explores the roles played by women in pre-colonial southern Africa, arguing that women were not restricted to the domestic sphere nor oppressed, instead they played important roles in production, religion, and politics. They were very active in the public domain; in politics as Princesses, Queen mothers, and regents; and in religion as prophets, diviners, and rainmakers. Gender division of labor was not rigid in precolonial southern Africa as women could crossover to male type duties and sometimes, the sexes complemented each other. The social, economic, and political domains were therefore not exclusively for men as the gender oppression schools of historical analysis would like us to believe; they were for both sexes. In short, women in pre-colonial southern Africa were independent; they controlled their bodies, owned their labor, and determined their destinies.