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ABSTRACT
A plethora of scholars argue that that feminism is tailor-made to serve a particular group of people and it does not address the need of all women. As a term conceptualized and adopted by white American women, feminism entails an agenda designed to meet the needs and demands of that particular group. For this reason, it is plausible for white women to identify with feminism and feminist movement. Placing all women's history under white women's history, thereby giving the latter a definite position, is problematic. Thus, various definitions, including womanism, have been coined to best suit the needs of different racial groups, black women in particular. Alice Walker (1983) in her acclaimed volume of essays "In search of our mother's garden" though using the term womanism interchangeably, argues that a "womanist" was "a black feminist or feminist of color". Most African American women note little difference between the two since both support a common agenda of black women's self definition and self-determination.This paper presents and attests to a view that while feminism and womanism are western-oriented, there is a feminism and womanism intelligible in an African context.
KeyWords: Africana; feminism; womanism; women; sexual equality; stiwanism; taxonomy
Introduction
The words "feminism" or "feminist" are political labels showing support for the aims of the new women's movement which emerged in the early 1960's. Throughout its long history, feminism has sought to disturb the patriarchal culture and to assert a belief in sexual equality as well as to eradicate sexist domination in transforming society. Emphasis was on women gaining greater individual freedom. This is echoed by Phillips (1987:68) who states that:
'It is the freedom to decide her own destiny, freedom from sex determined roles, freedom from society's oppressive restrictions; freedom to express her thoughts fully and to convert them freely into action. Feminism demands the acceptance of woman's right to individual conscience and judgment. It postulates that woman's essential worth stems from her common humanity and does not depend on another relationships of her life.'
In short, feminism is a struggle to end sexist oppression. Its aim is not to benefit any specific group of women, or any particular race or class of women. It does not privilege women over men. On the contrary, it...