Until recently, Europe has always looked at Africa through this messed-up lens of racism and racial theories. Notably, in the British context, a whole mix of stereotypes, pseudo-science, and baseless speculations that birthed racism came from the political fights over the slave trade and slavery in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
The people defending slavery came up with all sorts of new claims and old theories about black folks. They polished and spread these ideas through books, pamphlets, media paraphernalia, and just about anything. As an African girl who advocates for equality in all facets of life, I often find myself sorting through historical pages and anything I could lay my hands on that tells the story of my people before, during, and after the most dehumanising experience of colonialism happened. This one book, by a guy named Edward Long, who never even set foot in Africa, was instrumental in spreading racial ideas about Africans that many still believe to date. Long was a slave owner from Jamaica and had no scientific background, but his ideas were seen as legit. He dissed Africa as backward and called it the source of “everything that is monstrous in nature.” His racism was flexible enough to go from defending slavery to justifying colonialism.
Out of all the crazy and weird ideas from the slavery debates, one still hangs over Africa a century later—the idea that tyranny, war, and chaos defined this lovely continent. Long said Africa was so messed up that Africans were better off as slaves, saving them from worse fates in their homelands.
These silly ideas were cooked up by folks who were trying to justify trading humans and looting communities of their resources. It didn’t stop there. Even as African countries began to gain independence, the British, and Europe generally ensured they institutionalized mediocrity to hinder progress within the continent. A prime example is the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates in Nigeria in 1914, a decision with enduring consequences for both regions.
Women Held Positions of Political Authority in Pre-colonial Africa
In pre-colonial Africa, West- African communities were matriarchal. Women had a say in politics, religion, the economy, and everything else. For instance, in the old Oyo empire in south-west Nigeria, women were instrumental in installing kings. But when the colonizers came with their culture of putting women down, they changed everything. The Victorian gender ethos stripped African women of enormous political rule that existed pre-European colonization. Africa witnessed a systematic erasure of this female influence and power, diverting from the historical norm of women as governors of the home. The colonizers painted a false picture of African women as beasts of burden, sold for labour—a total lie. Whereas in reality, women in pre-colonial West Africa were on equal ground with men, in a dual-sex political system where both genders managed and controlled their respective affairs.
While the official rhetoric was that the colonizers were saving Africa from a haven of “barbarism,” their cultural innuendos didn’t reflect the progress they so proudly preached. Women didn’t even get to vote until 1918, and Black women until 1968 in Britain. Whereas, Africa boasted of goddesses like Osun among the Yorubas, Asase Yaa among the people of the Guinea coast, Ala among the Igbos, heroines like Moremi Ajasoro, and leaders of communities like Asantewaa and Nzinga. Europeans lied about our history, and we ended up living their lie. No wonder the female baby boomers in the early 1900s were crucial in building communities and holding down homes.
The advent of colonialism indeed introduced a cultural shift that undermined Africa’s traditional structures. Subsequently, political and social power dynamics were altered, and the legacy of matriarchal societies was progressively eroded into what we have today.
While the impact of colonialism on the African continent cannot be undone, it is crucial to recognize and confront the distorted narratives that have obscured the rich heritage of West African women, who were, in their own right, integral architects of their societies.
21st Century Feminism
In the present day, the repercussions of historical misrepresentations persist. The emergence of a generation influenced by social media, detached from core values and often misinterpreting feminism exemplifies this. These poster girls think paying their own bills makes them feminists. Can’t even tell the difference between being independent and being a feminist. They put up cringe-worthy captions like “Strong woman” just because they did their hair or paid rent. These ones missed the memo on adulting, and are deep-down driven by neediness, entitlement, and a sprinkle of greed.
African societies were matriarchal. Feminism didn’t start in the West; it came from Africa and got sold back to us like it was some Western thing. The historical roots of female empowerment in Africa long predate western conceptualizations of the movement. Even though we can’t change it now, if those shameless colonizers and gold thieves had left Africa alone, the trajectory of societal evolution might well have followed a different course.
Asante Sana!