Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides the kind of nuanced analysis of gendered power relations that makes it possible to re-write the history of Africa and Africans. It considers the role of place, gender and Africanness in the experience of African slaves in Arabia. The book suggests that when made to do similar work, particularly rural agricultural or urban domestic work, slaves in Saudi Arabia experienced patterns of subordination similar to slaves in the Americas. It proposes the adoption of feminist "ethic of vigor" which is designed to be more contextually sensitive and relevant to African values and therefore more suited to the emancipation of African women and achievement of gender justice and equity. The book embarks on a critique of the treatment of women on five new media platforms such as: news, advertisements, photographs, anti-feminist websites and blogs, and fashion world.