Lanterna Rally

Author: Oludamilola Osinbajo

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13:

"In 1861, Richard Burton observing the trading activities in the markets of Abeokuta described it as the "peculiar privilege" of Yoruba women. This thesis aims to explore the position of Yoruba women in society from the precolonial period to contemporary times in hopes of answering the question, "Should Yoruba women be called feminists?" Specifically, the economic role and welfare of Yoruba women would be used as a measure of position and well-being. The choice to measure position based on economic participation is built on the historical and current significance that work has held and still holds in a Yoruba woman's life. Work was a key component of a Yoruba woman's life in that it was her main source of livelihood and influence, and thus her identity. The first part of this thesis will give some brief information on who the Yorubas were, locating them geographically and culturally in the precolonial era. The second part of the thesis will be concerned with contextualizing the Yorubas, explicating their worldview, and positioning their culture in terms of religion, which was an integral part of social life. In this section, the question of gender will be explored and defined. This definition is important to conceptualize early in this study because gender is inherent in addressing the question of feminism. It is imperative to explore gender relations, gender hierarchies, and tensions to properly address the question of feminism, as well as the issue of the position of women. The third section introduces the changes in the Yoruba society with the advent of colonialism. Colonialism is addressed as an economic force as well as a cultural force affecting ideas of gender and in turn affecting the position of women socially and economically. The final part of the study aims to address the question, "Should Yoruba women be called feminists?" Using sources from African scholars about the advantages and disadvantages of feminism, the final section would apply the various arguments to the case of the Yoruba women specifically and assess the potential benefits, downsides, and/or irrelevance of adopting the feminist movement."