ABSTRACT
The continent of Africa is extremely diverse, because of its varied climate and geography, religions, languages and cultures, but also because of a history of colonization by multiple European countries, beginning in the fifteenth century. During the late nineteenth century, Britain, Portugal, and France, as well as Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy, attempted to claim and divide up among themselves the remaining African territory. Because the first three countries became the largest stakeholders, and their languages are still widely spoken in Africa, along with Arabic, Swahili, and other native languages, we have chosen three research articles to represent English, French, and Portuguese speaking Africa. These articles, respectively by Darkwah on Ghana, Sow on Senegal, and Osório and Temba on Mozambique, reflect some of the women’s issues within each nation. However, these issues are not purely local, and they have been shaped by current nation-building efforts and transnational economic influences, as well as by the legacies of colonization and pre-colonial dynamics.
