Who Is an African Woman? Towards a New Paradigm of Feminist Knowledge Production and Activism

We have a responsibility to use our knowledge and research to serve as advocates for the continent. As we reflect on Cynthia Joseph’s commitment to gender justice broadly and “minority” women’s access to justice today in particular, the voices of a new generation of women and feminist scholars is important. Also important are our relationships to the stories we encounter in our work, and the people who inhabit those stories—for our humanity is inextricably linked with that of others. She who knows she is because others are: Ubuntu! Millenial women are almost accused of preferring high heels and lipstick to the hard trenches work of their older 'second' and even 'third wave' sisters. And yet many are taking on issues that some of this “older” generation have not had to confront in our world today where heightened militarization coincides with academic arguments supporting white supremacy. This paper will discuss conversations with young African women about what it means to be a woman and a feminist today, the new challenges that confront them, and their own feminist work.