The 1960's

· Nationalist Struggles

· Independence

· Unpaid Household Work

· Economic Production

· No Power

In the 1960's...

We, African women, tilled the land

We, African women, cooked and fed our children and husbands

We, African women, fought and died for African independence

But, when we won Africa's independence, we were totally left out

The 1970's

· African Capitalism and Socialism

· Feminism and WID

· Inclusion

In the 1970's...

The process of nation-building began with no recognition of African women's contributions African women's citizenship was contingent on links to fathers, husbands, brothers, and even sons Whether the choice was capitalism or socialism, we, African women never made the choice So our fight for inclusion in development brought us WID

WID created a window of opportunity, but increased our burdens

The 1980's

o Structural Adjustment

o Feminism and GAD

In the 1980's...

We, African women, inherited the problems of the 1960's and the 1970's

In addition to the effects of structural adjustment and debt

In spite of this, we, African women developed and strengthened our own organisations, working at national, regional and international levels

This enhanced our collective bargaining and contributed towards the enactment of legislation to promote and protect women's rights

The 1990's

· Apartheid Ends

· Multiparty Politics

· Constitutional Gains

· HIV/AIDS

· War

In the 1990's...

We, African women, contributed again to the struggles to end apartheid and to achieve multipartyism

As a result, we, African women saw some gains in the Constitutions of Mali, South Africa, Uganda But we remained marginalised in parliaments and other sites of power

We were used as guinea pigs and caretakers in the struggle against HIV/AIDS and yet remained unable to protect ourselves

We were used as weapons of war in Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia and the Sudan

We were mutilated, raped, enslaved and displaced in the service of these wars

Despite all the commitments we gained from Dakar and Beijing

The 3rd Millenium

· Globalisation

· Liberalisation

· Privatisation

· We Demand Equal Rights

In the year 2000...

We, African women, say that we have made progress

But we are still overburdened and overloaded

And now we have globalisation, liberalisation, privatisation

As African women, we know this is just a smokescreen

And so we, African women, continue to demand

Equal rights

Among nations

Among races

Among genders

Among classes

For us all!

A collective composition, with thanks to: Jacqueline Anam-Mogeni (COVAW, Kenya); Mariama Conzeh (Abantu, Sierra Leone); Winnie Guchu (FIDA-K, Kenya); Sara Longwe (FEMNET, Zambia); Rose Mensah-Kuzin (Abantu, Ghana); Eva Mulema (FIDA-U, Uganda); Naana Oloo-Oyortey (IPPF, Ghana); Christine Oryema-Lalobo (AAWORD, Uganda); Irene Ovonji-Odida (FIDA-U, Uganda); L. Muthoni Wanyeki (FEMNET, Kenya).

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