An afro-communitarian conception of gender : interrogating gender inequality within African philosophy

Abstract

The problem of gender inequality is one that has remained almost unresolved in both Western and African feminists theorizing. The logic of Western supremacy is what has continued to color people’s understanding of gender relations. The fact that Africans are no longer under colonial rule does not imply that they are free from Western colonial influences. I contend that the influence of colonialism is heightened in the system of coloniality that continues to plague the mindsets of Africans. Despite many positive strategies African women activists provide to address gender inequality, African societies still suffer from a marginal logic that abhors equality. Afro-communitarianism is used as a framework to interrogate the issue of gender opposition and to provide an alternative epistemic tool to address the logic of gender inequality. Thus, I argue that the value of human relationships is incomplete without complementarity. The preceding claim is what undergirds this project’s belief in the complementary nature of personhood. Complementary personhood speaks to the importance of recognizing varied human identities and differences within any social context. The authenticity, rights, and autonomy of an individual are legitimate because they fill a gap in a complementary connection that results from coexisting with one another. I will employ a decolonial strategy to argue that the logic of opposition that undergirds gender relations ought to be deconstructed. In doing so, I will challenge the Western understanding of patriarchy and propose new ideas for addressing the problem of gender inequality using the Ezumezu system of logic.