Although often overlooked, women played an important role in the anti-colonial struggle. In the 1800s, European nations acquired great wealth and power by conquering foreign lands, including Africa. The inhabitants of African colonies were forced to labor for the European rulers. In the 1900s, however, many African countries embraced anti-colonial and independence movements, eventually winning their freedom from Europe. Here we look at how women fought for independence in three parts of Africa.

Colonial rulers and warrant chiefs in Nigeria

Women suffered more under colonial rule than men. In addition, early histories of the time ignore women’s struggles for independence. Women don’t appear much in the official records because they were forbidden to participate in government or business. In some cases, colonial rulers forced women to live as Europeans thought they should, as mothers, wives and housekeepers. One reason for this may have been to prevent African women from organizing resistance movements. Before European occupation, those same women may have held positions of power in their community. In other cases, women may have already been forced into domestic roles. In either case, the records of the time largely ignored them. Today, however, historians understand that women played important roles in groups fighting for independence and in labor unions. Women even fought in armed struggles against European colonizers.

Colonial rulers generally only accepted males in roles of authority. For example, before colonial times, communities in Southeastern Nigeria were run by groups of men and women rather than single leaders. Colonial occupiers, though, would only work with male “chiefs.” Since there weren’t any at the time, the British chose random men to be leaders and called these men “warrant chiefs.” These warrant chiefs – supported by colonial rulers – acted as judges and had great power. This often included power over women who had previously been political leaders, thus creating an entirely new power structure in Nigeria.

Women also struggled to make money under colonial rule. In many West African societies before colonialism, women farmed and participated in local business. Most able-bodied women were either farmers or merchants. In southern Nigeria, for example, all members of a family farmed the family land, and women helped produce important crops like palm oil and cocoa. However, British colonialists brought the concept of individual land ownership to Nigeria and only allowed men to be landowners. As a result, women found it difficult to make money from these important cash crops.

Women participate in anti-colonial actions

Women’s knowledge of farming and business helped them resist unfair British laws. In 1929, the British began unfairly taxing women in southeastern Nigeria. Women protested and attacked colonial buildings to demand an end to unfair taxes and the warrant chief system. The women used protest methods that were historically used to express their disapproval of men who abused their power. The women danced, sang songs about their poor treatment, and destroyed courthouses. This protest was known as the Aba Women’s Rebellion and lasted two months. During the protest, the British military fired into crowds of protestors and killed 55 women.

The protests, however, did help remove warrant chiefs in certain areas, and women began to participate in Native Courts. Throughout the time the British were in Nigeria, women protested. Groups like the Market Women’s Association and the Abeokuta Women’s Union pushed for women’s rights. They helped spread a sense of nationalism—the idea that people should be able to govern themselves. This nationalism eventually led to Nigeria winning independence from the British. Unfortunately, Nigerian male leaders did not support women’s rights and downplayed women’s role in winning independence.

In Egypt, women fought against colonialism and discrimination. Egypt had fallen heavily in debt to European powers by the late nineteenth century and was seized by the British in 1882. By the early twentieth century, Egyptian nationalism—the desire to self-govern—had grown in response to British rule. Saad Zaghloul led Wafd, the first major nationalist party. This group, led by men, fought for independence from Britain but also called for improving the rights of women in Egypt. Women also spoke out about the need to improve women’s education. They argued that women could play important roles in society beyond being mothers and wives.

When Zaghloul and his party members were forced to leave Egypt, women helped organize the growing revolution against British rule. On March 15, 1919, women joined in strikes, protests, and marches in Cairo. The next day, the wives of the nationalist leaders were forced to leave Egypt, Safiya Zaghloul, Huda Sharawi, and Mana Fahmi Wissa, led thousands of women on a march. They carried flags of the crescent and cross, showing that Muslim and Christian women both opposed British rule. These women continued to protest throughout the struggle for independence. Huda Shaarawi, the wife of a Wafd party organizer, founded the Egyptian Feminist Union (EFU). The EFU called for equal rights and education for women.

In 1954, a group called the National Liberation Front (FLN) fought against French colonialists in Algeria. Many Muslim women joined the FLN even though they were not allowed to have leadership roles. During Algeria’s war for independence, women supported the FLN by raising money. They also served as spies in the Battle of Algiers from 1956 to 1957. They worked undercover, hiding messages, money, and weapons under their veils. The roles that women played in the battle for independence were far different from the roles they had played before. In pre-colonial Algeria, society was dominated by men. After Algeria won independence in 1962, most male Algerian leaders pushed for women to return to traditional roles in the home.

Fighting for independence

European colonizers forced women out of jobs, took property from them, and removed them from government roles. Many things made it difficult for women to be involved in fighting colonialism. They were forced to be dependent on men, had fewer rights than men, could not own land, and could not even earn money. However, they still found important ways to help fight for independence.