‘Sankofaring’- A decolonial methodological tool in African Sociology

• In Event: Feminist Methods

Abstract

The notion of (South) African women as being “too free” because of the liberal democracy speaks to ahistorical and poor grasp of the positionality of eldest daughter (umafungwashe) and unmarried woman (idikazi -singular) in African societies. This paper seeks to build on the growing quest by African feminists for an alternative imagination in a world defined by different forms of violence against women along with perpetual positioning of Africa as the “stepchild” in the world of production of knowledge. This paper positions African women and the African household as central spaces in our attempts to find alternative imaginations in producing critical sociology that is community oriented, self-reflexive, transnational in its approach. This paper uses historical and Nguni linguistic meanings from Southern Africa attached to the idea of a “liberated woman” in reference to senior daughters to demonstrate Nkiru Nzegwu’s (2019 and 2024) ‘Sankofaring’ approach as a decolonizing methodological tool meaning making within sociology of gender in Africa. By sankofaring, this paper hopes to push back against the encroaching ‘respectability’ and violence used against non-conforming African women’s sexualities all in the name of ‘invented’ African traditions.

Author

• Babalwa Magoqwana, Nelson Mandela University