Breadcrumbs Section. Click here to navigate to respective pages.
Chapter

Chapter
Women and ubuntu
DOI link for Women and ubuntu
Women and ubuntu book
Women and ubuntu
DOI link for Women and ubuntu
Women and ubuntu book
Click here to navigate to parent product.
ABSTRACT
The world-view of ubuntu has been interpreted as giving the highest regard to relationships This chapter argues that a relational ethic such as ubuntu is in its essence egalitarian. The reason that ubuntu is egalitarian is as a result of what a good relationship entails. This chapter argues that an ethic of ubuntu is in essence egalitarian. Once people understand that a good relationship requires equality, it follows that African societies which condone the subordination of women are acting against the essence of ubuntu and similar Afro-communitarian ideals. The claim that ubuntu requires equality between the sexes will be supported and analyzed in light of Nkiru Nzegwu's (1994) understanding of a dual-sex system in some traditional African societies. While this argument shows how it is possible for Afro-communitarianism to be egalitarian when it comes to gender relations, there are, however, still some issues that the kind of gender complementarity described here would have to deal with.