ABSTRACT
Previous feminist epistemic struggles have been regarded as insignificant by men in various professional powerbases. Feminist epistemologists have long accused men of monopolising knowledge and discounting women’s contributions to the various fields of knowledge. The chapter avers that African academics have been subjected to epistemological discrimination for several decades compared to other regions of the globe. There is no doubt that both men and women have been, and are still, victims of this prejudice. Feminists such as Spender and Friedan have deplored the tenacity of the sexist definition of knowledge and how men engross the production, dissemination, and custodianship of knowledge in the Global North. History has it that women have realised this disparity and have since contested and protested in some way. When transposed to Africa, it is attested that women academics suffer more from this bigotry than their male counterparts. This chapter explores the genesis of the feminist epistemic struggle and examines the state of gender and knowledge democracy in African universities. It proffers strategies that African women academics should employ to challenge their relegation and insist that they have a right to be knowers and custodians of knowledge.
