What do you think?
Rate this book
Women Writing Africa: The Eastern Region
This project is "essential . . . a rich resource for scholars and general readers alike" (Library Journal).
The Eastern Region contains over 130 texts from 29 languages in five countries-Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia-from the mid-1800s to the present. The volume documents women's roles in the struggle for independence that culminated in nationhood for these countries in the 1960s. Queens, slaves, mothers, nuns, field generals, political activists, and politicians all appear inside.
Also available in the Women Writing Africa The Southern Region (Volume 1) and West Africa and the Sahel (Volume 2). The Northern Region (Volume 4) will be published in 2007.
The Eastern Region contains over 130 texts from 29 languages in five countries-Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia-from the mid-1800s to the present. The volume documents women's roles in the struggle for independence that culminated in nationhood for these countries in the 1960s. Queens, slaves, mothers, nuns, field generals, political activists, and politicians all appear inside.
Also available in the Women Writing Africa The Southern Region (Volume 1) and West Africa and the Sahel (Volume 2). The Northern Region (Volume 4) will be published in 2007.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2007
2 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 5, 2020
or my birthday in 2017, my mum and stepfather gave me this tome of 400+ pages. My husband and I were set to get married and move to Tanzania three months later, which we did! It is only now that I’ve got round to reading this wonderful book.
In 2007, Women Writing Africa: The Eastern Region was published. It forms part of a project entitled The Women Writing Africa Project. The reason behind the Women Writing Africa Project? A group of of academics wanted to “open up worlds too often excluded from history books.” This third volume took more than a decade to make. It collects more than a hundred texts dating back to 1711 all the way to 2004. The five countries represented are Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. Tanganyika (in 1964,Tanganyika united with independent Zanzibar to form Tanzania) gained independence in 1961, Uganda in 1962, Kenya and Zanzibar in 1963 and Malawi and Zambia in 1964.
Read more of this review here:
https://aroundtheworldonefemalenoveli...
https://aroundtheworldonefemalenoveli...
In 2007, Women Writing Africa: The Eastern Region was published. It forms part of a project entitled The Women Writing Africa Project. The reason behind the Women Writing Africa Project? A group of of academics wanted to “open up worlds too often excluded from history books.” This third volume took more than a decade to make. It collects more than a hundred texts dating back to 1711 all the way to 2004. The five countries represented are Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. Tanganyika (in 1964,Tanganyika united with independent Zanzibar to form Tanzania) gained independence in 1961, Uganda in 1962, Kenya and Zanzibar in 1963 and Malawi and Zambia in 1964.
Read more of this review here:
https://aroundtheworldonefemalenoveli...
https://aroundtheworldonefemalenoveli...
November 24, 2024
I trully enjoyed reading this book, reading the stories of Africa as written by African women. I had always wondered what life was like before colonialists came, and this book has that. It has true stories of what life was like back then, and shared what African women felt and or experienced with the incoming of colonialism.
I also read about the introduction of education and I could see how it brought more opportunities for the African women. Early marriage and child bearing were no longer the only two options for women.
Then it was really so interesting to read the stories of women who were among the very first Africans to get a higher level of education, and to see how they were able to transform their societies and impact future generations.
Something else I learned through these stories, is just how common slavery was back then. Africans were enslaving other Africans too, seemed to just be accepted as the norm. Even though much focus is always placed on the two main slave routes that exported Africans to other continents.
I also observed that life as it was in the back in the sixties and even earlier, it isn’t very different to what it is today especially in the villages. I grew up in the 90s and 2000s and I can relate to a lot of the things the women share about their life. Things like the communal life and division of chores based on gender haven’t changed much.
I also read about the introduction of education and I could see how it brought more opportunities for the African women. Early marriage and child bearing were no longer the only two options for women.
Then it was really so interesting to read the stories of women who were among the very first Africans to get a higher level of education, and to see how they were able to transform their societies and impact future generations.
Something else I learned through these stories, is just how common slavery was back then. Africans were enslaving other Africans too, seemed to just be accepted as the norm. Even though much focus is always placed on the two main slave routes that exported Africans to other continents.
I also observed that life as it was in the back in the sixties and even earlier, it isn’t very different to what it is today especially in the villages. I grew up in the 90s and 2000s and I can relate to a lot of the things the women share about their life. Things like the communal life and division of chores based on gender haven’t changed much.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews