Feminist Studies

The Search for an African Feminist Ethic: A Zimbabwean Perspective

Download PDF

---

In the field of ethics, women have been portrayed as inferior to men due to androcentric
attitudes (male-dominated ethics) that seems to define men as custodians of what
is right or wrong. This andro-centric ethic has taken women out of the academic limelight
as they are portrayed as less able to make valuable contributions in philosophy (ethics)
and other fields of academic inquiry. It is encouraging to see feminist movements
emerging, in the twenty-first century, to challenge this misplaced kind of thinking. This
challenge is laudable and in this paper, I make an attempt to show that while women in
the West have fought for their place in society resulting in developing ‘the ethics of care’,
women from Africa are still struggling to find their feet. The African woman’s moral
point of view is still far from being respected because of the whims and caprices of
patriarchy which is camouflaged in the communitarian philosophy of hunhu or ubuntu.
Against this background, the paper seeks to show that an African feminist ethic can be
developed and the fight for public recognition must begin in the home, taking cognisance
of the fact that African women face several challenges as custodians of value. The paper
argues that reclaiming motherhood in the context of the fight against HIV and AIDS will
be a key step towards the realisation of African women’s moral vision.

---

Detail Information

Publication Information

: ., 2009

Number of Pages

-

ISBN

-

Language

English

ISSN

-

Subject(s)

Hunhu or Ubuntu
Feminist Ethics
Content Analysis
African Feminist Ethic
Zimbabwean Perspective
Communitarian

Description

-

Citation

-

Other Information

Type

Article

Part Of Series

-

DOI Identifier

-

Related Publications

Comments

Leave Your Comments on this Publication

---