Decolonization and Afro-feminism

"The main aim of the book project is to develop a resource that moves legal education away from conventional teaching and research methods which employ a near-exclusive focus on the black letter of the law, perpetuating a colonial, hierarchical, and decontextualized understanding of contemporary struggles on the continent. The book analyzes a number of key legal concepts through the twin lenses of Decolonization and Afro-Feminism. It tackles issues of legal pluralism and their significance to social justice, and also unpacks and critiques the Western origins of Human Rights, and its implications for contemporary social struggles. Pushing this critique further, the book offers a reconceptualization of the concept of rights through the framework of Ubuntu social justice. It provides several insights on decolonizing the African Academy and the teaching of Law, particularly those subjects which cover the family and sexuality. In so doing, the book will unlock the out-of-sight connections between imperialism, neocolonialism and the patriarchal-capitalist system and the Law. Finally, the book tackles the increasingly vexed issue of Pan-Africanism, examining its masculinist appeal and suggesting a nexus with Pan-African feminisms."--

"Why do so many Africans believe they cannot break the "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back" cycle? Six decades after colonial flags were lowered and African countries gained formal independence, the continent struggles to free itself from the deep legacies of colonialism, imperialism and patriarchy. Many intellectuals, politicians, feminists and other activists, eager to contribute to Africa's liberation, have frustratingly, felt like they took the wrong path. Analyzed through the eyes of Afro-Feminism, this book revisits some of the fundamental preconditions needed for radical transformation. It challenges the traditional human rights paradigm and its concomitant idea of "gender equality", flagging instead, the African philosphy of Ubuntu as a serious alternative for reinvigorating African notions of social justice. If you are a student of Africa or in a space where you wish to recalibrate your compass and reboot your consciousness in the strugge for Africa's liberation, this book is for you."--taken from back cover.

Acknowledgments -- Some key definitions -- 1. Introduction -- Of counter-narratives -- The meaning of Africa(ns) -- Goals and organization of the book -- 2. The basics of decolonization and decolonial futures -- Africa's decolonization and decolonial reconstruction -- Decolonization & decoloniality : Science fiction or present fact? -- A two-pronged approach : The political and the psychological -- 3. Feminists and the struggle for Africa's decolonial reconstruction -- Gender studies in African academies -- Beyond racism : Multiple inequalities and intersectionality -- Integrating Afro-ecofeminism into decolonialization -- 4. Challenging the coloniality of sex, gender and sexuality -- Michael Phelps and Caster Semenya : A juxtaposition -- Decolonial African sex / gender systems -- A decolonial analysis of the Phelps / Semenya conundrum -- Medico-legal taxonomies : Semenya's battle with science and the law -- 5. Legal pluralism and decolonial feminism -- State "customary law" versus living customary law -- Decolonized customary law -- Gender and religious relativism -- 6. Repositioning the dominant discourses on rights and social justice -- Human? Rights? -- Unpacking the universal…