Comparing Women's Roles in Decolonization Efforts Feedback Form
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS1Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Comparing Women’s Roles in Decolonization Efforts”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/Directions:Use the following research cards to organize the information found online.Research CardsTitle:“The Invisible Farmer? Women, Gender, and Colonial Agricultural Policy in the Igbo Region of Nigeria, c. 1913-1954”Author:Chima J. KoriehName of website (if applicable):Jstor.orgWhat makes the author an authority on this topic?The author is an associate professor of nineteenth-and twentieth-century West African history and gender relations.What makes the website credible?Jstor.org is an online repository for academic journal articlesWhat information will you be using from this source?This article provides information on how women’s roles in Nigeria changed as a result of patriarchal British colonial policies, in particular in reference to agricultural work. The article “notes the fact that colonially induced changes altered local gender relations of production and contributed to agricultural decline in the Igbo region” (118). In addition, “colonial officials often emphasized a patriarchal ideology, creating new institutions based on European notions of gender, which often led to new gender and class relations in the colonized society. These institutions contrasted with precolonial systems, transforming the roles women had previously played in the political economy of African societies” (119-120). Women in pre-colonial Nigeria (Igbo): “Inthe precolonial Igbo society, women were not subordinate to men, but rather complementary to them. Kamene Okonjo identifies a ‘dual-sex political system’ in Igboland in which women had spheres of authority that were parallel to those of men. The society was organized around a power-sharing arrangement where negotiation determined the sociopolitical and economic arrangements and the ways women operated within them” (120). Women’s roles in post-colonial Nigeria (Igbo): “...women’s political participation in Igbo society suffered some major setbacks following the imposition of British colonial administration in the area. The reorganization of local political arrangements by colonial administration based on exclusionist tendencies and divide-and-rule tactics curtailed the effectiveness of Igbo general assemblies and generally eliminated women’s participation in them” (120-121).Citation:Korieh, Chima J. “The Invisible Farmer? Women, Gender, and Colonial Agricultural Policy in the Igbo Region of Nigeria, c. 1913-1954.” African Economic History 29 (2001): 117-162. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3601709?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS2Research CardsTitle:“The Colonial and Pre-Colonial Eras in Nigeria”Author:American Historical Association (AHA)Name of website (if applicable):American Historical AssociationWhat makes the author an authority on this topic?The AHA is a professional organization of historians. This organization also publishes an academic journal.What makes the website credible?Same as above.What information will you be using from this source?Background information on life in pre-colonial and post-colonial Nigeria including the Aba Women’s Rebellion. There is a link to more detailed information about this rebellion titled “Riot or Rebellion? The Women’s Market Rebellion of 1929.” This article uses firsthand accounts of the rebellion along with secondary source material to describe the events that took place and how women led the rebellion when they learned they would be taxed by the colonial (British) government.Citation:American Historical Association. “The Colonial and Pre-Colonia Eras in Nigeria.” American Historical Association: Teaching and Learning, 2018. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/teaching-and-learning-in-the-digital-age/through-the-lens-of-history-biafra-nigeria-the-west-and-the-world/the-colonial-and-pre-colonial-eras-in-nigeriaResearch CardsTitle:“The Role of Nigerian Women”Author:Toyin O. FalolaName of website (if applicable):Encyclopaedia BritannicaWhat makes the author an authority on this topic?The author of this article is a distinguished professor of African history at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, he is a fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria, author of numerous books on African history, and a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters.
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS3What makes the website credible?This encyclopedia has been a source of knowledge for numerous disciplines since it first began in the late eighteenth century.What information will you be using from this source?“In the precolonial period, women played a major role in social and economic activities. Division of labour was along gender lines, and women controlled such occupations as food processing, mat weaving, pottery making, and cooking. Moreover, land was communally owned, and women had access to it through their husbands or parents. Although a man was the head of the household in a patrilineal system, older women had control of the labour of younger family members. Women were also central to trade. Among the Yoruba, they were the major figures in long-distance trade, with enormous opportunities for accumulating wealth and acquiring titles...The basic unit of political organization was the family, and in the common matrifocal arrangement, which allowed a woman to gain considerable authority over her children, a woman and her offspring could form a major bloc in the household...The most serious threat to the influence and privileges of women occurred during the 20th century, when patriarchy combined with colonial changes to alter gender relations. As male chiefs collaborated with the British colonial administration in collecting taxes and governing, the position of female chiefs declined in importance.”Citation:Falola, Toyin O. “The role of Nigerian women.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2007. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/role-of-Nigerian-women-1360615Research CardsTitle:“Daughters of the Nile: The Evolution of Feminism in Egypt”Author:Mohamed YounisName of website (if applicable):Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social JusticeWhat makes the author an authority on this topic?The author is the editor in chief of Gallup News and has a law degree from Washington & Lee Law School.What makes the website credible?The website is under the umbrella of Washington & Lee University School of Law.What information will you be using from this source?The article provides background information on Egyptian women and the colonial era, including how some women argued that Islam called “for more humane treatment of women” than life under traditional Egyptian patriarchy as well as that under European rule (467-468). Some women’s rights activists argued that education was the tool to use in order to escape these restrictions. “In the early twentieth century, Egypt was a place where most men
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS4perceived the education of women as a threat to their long tradition of patriarchal dominance over Egyptian women. Men often attacked Musa and others for spreading corruption and vice among Egyptian girls because they promoted their education. In an attempt to directly tackle such a notion, Musa dedicates a portion of her 1920 publication,Citation:Younis, Mohamed. “Daughters of the Nile: The Evolution of Feminism in Egypt.” Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice 13, no. 2 (2007): 463-490. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1228&context=crsjResearch CardsTitle:“Women in the 1919 Egyptian Revolution: From Feminist Awakening to Nationalist Political Activism”Author:Nabila RamdaniName of website (if applicable):Bridgewater State UniversityWhat makes the author an authority on this topic?The author is a journalist with an MPhil in International History from the London School of Economics. She has written for numerous publications including newspapers such as the Guardian and the London Evening Standard.What makes the website credible?The website is part of Bridgewater State University, an institution of higher education.What information will you be using from this source?This article focuses on how nationalism and the revolution of 1919 united Egyptian men and women under the causes of doing away with British colonial rule. “The whole nation was united in criticizing the way the occupying British had used their country fortheir own ends, demeaning the interests of the indigenous population, from the peasant masses up to the educated elites. This gave rise to numerous variations of Egyptian nationalism, all of which were eventually to play a part in seeing at least nominal native rule introduced. The feminist element to this movement was both vocal and powerful, as women rallied under the ‘Egypt for the Egyptians’ slogan. Nationalism was certainly an obvious vehicle for feminist demands...Radical calls for change being made bya pioneering women’s movement strengthened the nationalist cause. In turn, feminists gained from their close association with the nationalists, using their connections to build up their own power base” (39-40). Women, therefore, used both educational reform and nationalism to further their own cause (expanding their rights) as well as the cause of independence (decolonization). The Egyptian women’s movement began with “middle-class women who were at the forefront of the feminist cause, using articles in magazines and newspapers, as well as more traditional
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS5literature like poems and novels, to highlight the need for improved rights for women” (41). This movement became known as al-nahda al-nisa’iyya or the women’s awakening.Citation:Ramdani, Nabila. “Women in the 1919 Egyptian Revolution: From Feminist Awakening to Nationalist Political Activism.” Journal of International Women’s Studies 14, no. 2 (2013): 39-52. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1679&context=jiwsResearch CardsTitle:“Algerian feminism and the long struggle for women’s equality”Author:Nedjib Sidi MoussaName of website (if applicable):The ConversationWhat makes the author an authority on this topic?The author is an Algerian scholar who has a PhD in political science from the Sorbonne (Paris).What makes the website credible?The website is run by a non-profit that is a mix of journalists and academic scholars who work together to write on topics in which they have expertise.What information will you be using from this source?This article connects the struggles women currently face in Algeria to those that women have fought against for decades, dating back to the Algerian revolutionary war from 1954 to 1962. “In 1956, Algerian women participated in a series of terror bomb attacks launched by a nationalist guerrilla network...In 1958, during a nationalist meeting at the Casablanca Labour Exchange, a group of Algerian women spoke before hundreds of men, saying: ‘You make a revolution, you fight colonialist oppression but you maintain the oppression of women; beware, another revolution will certainly occur after Algeria’s independence: a women’s revolution!, The women had to speak up because the nation’s anti-colonial revolution was so strongly dominated by men. But their words could also be seen as the indirect result of French colonialist propaganda, which claimed to want to ‘emancipate’ Muslim women, but which was also intended to counter Algeria’s nationalist struggle during 1957-1959. Indeed, the colonial authorities’ campaign of unveiling Muslim women led to the showcasing of ‘emancipated women’ to promote French ideals.” Algerian women also formed groups, in much the same way as those in Egypt, in order to campaign for more freedoms. “In 1947, the anti-colonial Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD) created the Association of Algerian Muslim Women (AFMA) despite its patriarchal structure. Run by Mamia Chentouf, the AFMA promoted a type of feminism that was devoted to charitable activities, acknowledged
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS6and defended the biological differences between men and women, and affirmed Arab-Muslim culture.” Other women’s groups that fought for more rights included those associated with labor unions. “Unionist Fatma Mezrag said in 1959 in Lille, a working class town in the north of France, that fighting colonialism would not be enough to liberate Algerian women. She said men had to address their selfishness, lust and oppression. She clearly recognized that French colonialism wasn’t the only obstacle on the path of Algerian women’s liberation.”Citation:Moussa, Nedjib Sidi. “Algerian feminism and the long struggle for women’s equality.” The Conversation US, 2016. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://theconversation.com/algerian-feminism-and-the-long-struggle-for-womens-equality-65130Research CardsTitle:“Colonial Postcards and Women as Props for War-Making”Author:Sarah SentillesName of website (if applicable):The New YorkerWhat makes the author an authority on this topic?The author has a PhD from Harvard and is the author of multiple books and numerous articles appearing in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Review of Books among others.What makes the website credible?The New Yorker is a reputable publication focused on literature, art, and journalism, which was first published in 1925 and continues today.What information will you be using from this source?This article supports the previous one about how the French used the “unveiling” of Muslim women in Algeria as a tool to attempt to break apart independence (decolonization) movements. In addition, it provides information on French colonial rule, which lasted from 1830 to 1962. The French hired mainly poor Algerian women to photograph in European clothing in an attempt to show indigenous women how they could be “civilized.” “Women have long been props for war-making. Invasions are often justified in part bypointing to the suffering of women in the countries targeted for attack. ‘Only the terrorists and the Taliban threaten to pull out women’s fingernails for wearing nail polish,’ Laura Bush said when she took over her husband’s weekly radio address, in 2001, to urge Americans to support the war in Afghanistan. Like McMaster’s miniskirt photograph, Bush’s speech exemplifies the kind of pseudo-feminism sometimes used to justify invasion. The literary theorist and post-colonial feminist Gayatri Spivak calls it ‘white men saving brown women from brown men,’ an imperial logic that ignores sexism at home to fight sexism abroad, and which disregards brown women’s agency and self-understanding.”
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS7Citation:Sentilles, Sarah. “Colonial Postcards and Women as Props for War-Making.” The New Yorker, 2017. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/colonial-postcards-and-women-as-props-for-war-makingResearch CardsTitle:“Women of the Algerian Resistance”Author:Anna JacobsName of website (if applicable):Public Books, Columbia UniversityWhat makes the author an authority on this topic?The author was an adjunct professor in Morocco at the Ecole de Gouvernance et d’Economie. In addition, she was a Fulbright Scholar in this country and has published several articles.What makes the website credible?The website was established by academics at Columbia University with the mission “to publish writing...that brings scholarly depth to discussions of contemporary art, ideas, and politics.”What information will you be using from this source?The article focuses on Algerian contributions to WWII supporting the French and when “a group of Algerians demanded independence from their colonial occupiers” they were fired upon in retaliation for the estimated deaths of 100 European settlers in Algeria. But in response to these deaths, the French killed between 1,000 and 45,000 Algerians. “In 2005, on the 60th anniversary of these massacres, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika highlighted the significance of the moment: ‘The paradox of the massacresof May 8, 1945, is that when the heroic Algerian combatants returned from the fronts in Europe, Africa and elsewhere where they defended France’s honor and interests...the French administration fired on peaceful demonstrators.” The article then focuses on agroup of Algerian women who were a part of the resistance against France. Zohra Drif recorded her participation in the resistance movement along with other women. “She lived with a sisterhood of fighters as a member of the National Liberation Army (ALN), the armed wing of Algeria’s independence movement, the National Liberation Front (FLN). She worked with figures like Ycef Saadi, Ali La Pointe, and Larbi Ben M’hidi—all three legends in the anti-colonial struggle...Drif takes us into the heart of the colonial atrocity and illuminates how violent resistance became the solution to throwing off the chains of foreign occupation and creating Algerian statehood.” The article then relates these events to the current French president and the political tensions in France between the center and far right. Drif and her sisters in resistance “became part of a sisterhood of moudjahidate—women fighters working with the ALN—during the Battle of Algiers. “In the memoir, Drif recalls an endless series of massacres, torture, forced disappearances, and rapes. Any whisper of Algerian resistance, violent or nonviolent, was met with
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS8overwhelming force by the French colonial administration and by the pieds-noirs—French settlers.” Drif wrote, “In August 1956, Samia and I, assuming full responsibility, chose to become ‘volunteers for death’ to recover and free our mother, Algeria—who hadbeen taken by force, raped, and kidnapped for 125 years—or to die. Faced with the choice between our mother and our lives...we chose our mother...The only case where a people has the right and duty to take up arms is when its country and territory are attacked by an external force. This is called self-defense. That was our case in November 1954 and throughout our struggle.”Citation:Jacobs, Anna. “Women of the Algerian Resistance.” Public Books, Columbia University, 2018. Accessed September 5, 2019. https://www.publicbooks.org/ women-of-the-algerian-resistance/
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS9Part 1: Identifying and Describing1.Write the topic of comparison at the top of the chart, and then add the cases you’re comparing and their associated time periods and locations.2.Respond to the questions in the Part 1 chart for each case you’re comparing. Use the resources provided.3.After responding to the questions for each case, identify and describe the similarities and differences between these cases.Part 2: Analyzing1.If you were going to write two essays about the similarities and/or differences you’ve identified for this topic, what are two thesis statements you might use? Write one thesis statement about similarities and one about differences.2.If required, use your thesis statements to craft a response to the comparison prompt for this activity.Topic of ComparisonDecolonization methodsPart 1: Identifying and DescribingCases You’re ComparingNigeriaEgyptAlgeriaTime Period1900s-1960s1882-19561830s-1960sLocationWestern AfricaNorthern AfricaNorthern AfricaCommunityWhat, if any, social privileges did women have in pre-colonial compared to colonial times?Before colonialism, both men and women were leaders in the community. After colonization, the British would only recognize male leadership under the “warrant chief” system. This meant that women lost the ability to participate in politics.Prior to colonialism, women in Egypt were limited politically, educationally, and socially. During colonialism, women fought for more rights and helped lead the independence movement against Britain. This was in response to more restrictive European policies against women.Women in Algeria before colonial rule were limited to the household. They were expected to perform traditional, domestic roles as Algeria was patriarchal. Women actually gained privileges in resistance movements against the French during colonization. Theywere able to take certain jobs that
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS10supported Algerian nationalism. These jobs were traditionally restricted to men. After independence was achieved, Algerian men attempted to return women to traditional roles limited to the household.NetworksHow did women work together to combat oppression?Women in Nigeria protested the warrant chief system by participating in the “Aba Women’s Rebellion” in 1929, where they destroyed courthouses. This resulted in more women being able to participate in local courts. Women joined together in two groups: The Women’s Market Association and the Abeokuta Women’s Union. These groups helped spread nationalism and fought for Nigerian Independence from the British.The Egyptian nationalist group Wafd advocated for both independence from Britain and stronger rights for women. Huda Shaarawi helped to form the Egyptian Feminist Union, which fought for political, educational, and legal rights for women in Egypt. Muslim and Christian women united to remove European influence from Egypt.During colonialism, women played a critical role in fighting French oppression through acting as spies, delivering messages, and planting bombs. Women in Algeria joined the Front de libération nationale (FLN) to support Algerian nationalism and independence from France. They were still not allowed to have leadership roles, even in the FLN.P&DWhat role did women play in the economy before, during, and after colonialism?Before colonialism, women were able to be farmers and merchants. They were also able to be involved in business. West-African women were able to farm alongside males and were critical in the production of cocoa and palm oil. Colonization introduced European concepts of land ownership and inheritance. Therefore, women were not allowed to own land or make money from the crops farmed on it.Before colonialism, women’s role in the economy was limited to domestic work. Women played a pivotal role during colonization as they boycotted British goods and services. Immediately after independence, women gained some success in the work force.Before colonialism, Algerian women were not allowed to participate in the economy outside of the household. However, during the fight for independence, women raised money and took jobs as soldiers, spies, nurses, and cooks. After Algeria gained independence, women lost the ability to perform these jobs as many men desired a return to the pre-colonial, patriarchal system.SimilaritiesIn all three case studies, European colonizers worked only with native male rulers and did not recognize women of power. After achieving independence from colonial rule, the rights of women in each of these countries have been limited by native
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS11males. Women in each of the countries also formed organizations which simultaneously fought for independence as well as women’s rights.DifferencesWomen in West African countries such as Nigeria lost many rights and privileges during the period of colonialism. However, women in Egypt and Algeria experienced further restrictions of existing gender roles. In Algeria, women served as soldiers, nurses, and spies. This is contrasted with the movements in Nigeria and Egypt, where women boycotted or protested European rule.Part 2: AnalyzingThesis Statement 1: SimilaritiesIn the period of colonialism, Nigerian women lost political representation and the right to participate in business while Egyptian and Algerian women had to fight both the existing patriarchy and the European powers in order to achieve greater equality.Thesis Statement 2: DifferencesThe legacy of colonialism in which women’s lives were severely restricted continues to influence the roles of women in Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria.ResponseStudent outlines will vary.
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS12Comparison: Feedback FormDirections:Check the criteria met for each category and leave notes specifying what was done well and what can be improved. Crossed-out areas will not be evaluated as part of this activity.Similarities☐No similarities between historical events, developments, regions, eras, or any other important area were identified.☐Similarities between historical events, developments, regions, eras, or any other important area were identified.☐Similarities between historical events, developments, regions, eras, or any other important area were described.☐A brief analysis of the reasons for thesimilarities was provided.☐An extended analysis of the reasons for thesimilarities was provided.NotesDifferences☐No differences between historical events, developments, regions, eras, or any other important area were identified.☐Differences between historical events, developments, regions, eras, or any other important area were identified.☐Differences between historical events, developments, regions, eras, or any other important area were described.☐A brief analysis of the reasons for thedifferences was provided.☐An extended analysis of the reasons for thedifferences was provided.Notes
WHP ORIGINS / LESSON 8.9 ACTIVITYTEACHERMATERIALSCOMPARING WOMEN’S ROLES IN DECOLONIZATION EFFORTS13Historical Significance☐No explanation of historical significance provided.☐Attempts but does not fully explain how the causes and/or effects are historicallysignificant in terms of amount, depth and/or endurance.*☐Fully explains how the causes and/or effects are historically significant in terms of amount, depth and/or endurance.*NotesHistorical accuracy☐Incorrectly refers to historical content and may include misconceptions of that content.☐There are many minor errors or a major error in applying historical content.☐Uses many unsupported opinions.☐Avoids explicit misconceptions of the content.☐May make an occasional minor error in applying historical content.☐Uses some unsupported opinions.☐Avoids misconceptions.☐There are no errors in applying historical content.☐Avoids using unsupported opinions.Notes* Amount: How many people’s lives were affected by the cause/effect? Depth: Were people living in the time periodbeing studied deeply affected by the cause/effect? Endurance: Were the changes people experienced as a result of this cause/effect long-lasting and/or recurring?