ABSTRACT
By the end of Chapter 11, you will be able to:
Describe and explain decolonial feminisms
Examine the relationship between imperialism, colonialism, gender, education and race
Interrogate the coloniality of knowledge
Evaluate challenges to decolonial feminist work
Apply your understanding to case studies
In this chapter, we examine decolonial feminisms. Decolonisation in its widely accepted form refers to the events and processes that led to the independence of former colonies from colonial rule, but sovereignty did not necessarily lead to cultural, intellectual, economic, psychological or political ‘independence’ (Brah, 2022). Decolonial feminisms, as a counter to neoliberal and imperial projects, seek to challenge and transform the relations of power that survive colonialism through decolonising theory and praxis (Brah, 2022; Okech, 2020). Decolonial feminisms are intersectional and multidimensional. Decolonial feminist theory and praxis aims to undo the legacies of the colonial past in ways that bring about social justice, restore dignity and promote community. Interrogating the coloniality of knowledge is of particular interest to the decolonial feminist thinkers discussed in this chapter. We start with the theory-work of French decolonial feminist and educator Françoise Vergès (1952–) whose critique of civilisation feminism, that is a feminism in service of the neoliberal state, takes our focus. Vergès (2021) advocates for an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-racist and post-hetero-patriarchal world.