Although women have long been active residents in African cities, explorations of their contributions have been marginal. This volume brings women into the center of the urban landscape, using case studies to illustrate their contributions to family, community, work, and political life. The book begins with a rich introduction that discusses how women's work in trade and agriculture has been the foundation of African urbanization. The contributors then focus on patterns of migration and urbanization, with an emphasis on the personal and social issues that influence the decision to migrate from rural areas; women's employment in varied activities from selling crafts to managing small businesses; the sometimes unavoidable practice of prostitution when options are limited ; the emergence of complex new family formations deriving from access to courts and the continued strength of polygyny; and women's participation in community and political activities. The volume includes material from all regions of sub-Saharan Africa and brings together scholars from all the social sciences.
Author(s): Kathleen Sheldon
Publisher: Westview Press (Perseus Books)
Year: 1996
Language: English
Commentary: missing part dividers (pg. 29-30, 103-104,0191-192, 257-258)
Pages: 352
City: Boulder / Oxford
Frontmatter
Preface (page vii)
Map of African National Capitals and Cities Germane to the Text (page ix)
Part 1 Introduction
1 Urban African Women: Courtyards, Markets, City Streets (Kathleen Sheldon, page 3)
Part 2 Migration and Urbanization
2 South African Women and MIgration in Umtata, Transkei, 1880-1935 (Sean Redding, page 31)
3 Transitions in Kenyan Patriarchy: Attempts to Control Nairobi Area Traders, 1920-1963 (Claire C. Robertson, page 47)
4 Three Genereations of Hausa Women in Kaduna, Nigeria, 1925-1985 (Catherine M. Coles, page 73)
Part 3 Courtyards: Marriage, Family and Housing
5 Washing Dirty Laundry in Public: Local Courts, Custom, and Gender Relations in Postcolonial Lusaka (Karen Tranberg Hansen, page 105)
6 Can Polygyny Be Avoided in Dakar? (Phillipe Antoine and Jeanne Nanitelamio(translated by Laura Mitchell), page 129)
7 Health, Gender Relations, and Poverty in the AIDS Era (Brooke Grundfest Schoepf, page 153)
8 Moving and Coping: Women Tenants in Gweru, Zimbabwe (Miriam Grant, page 169)
Part 4 Markets: Work and Survival
9 Women in Buisness: Class and Nairobi's Small and Medium-Sized Producers (Dorothy McCormick, page 193)
10 Beyond Simple Survival: Women Microentrepreneurs in Harare and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (Mary Johnson Osirim, page 213)
11 Prostitution, a Petit-métier During Economic Crisis: A Road to Women's Liberation? The Case of Cameroon (Paulette Beat Songue (translated by Laura Mitchell), page 241)
Part 5 City Streets: Politics and Community
12 "I Am with You as Never Before": Women in Urban Protest Movements, Alexandra Township, South Africa, 1912-1945 (John Nauright, page 259)
13 Urban Women's Movements and Political Liberalization in East Africa (Aili Mari Tripp, page 285)
Selected References (page 309)
About the Book and Editor (page 329)
About the Contributors (page 331)
Index (page 333)
