AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY, CULTURE, RELIGION AND GENDER ISSUE: THE IMPLICATIONS ON AFRICAN WOMEN

Abstract

African philosophy like philosophies of the other societies is embedded in culture. Culture contains religion, politics, education and economic systems and practices. It contains marriage traditions as are practised in various families, clans, tribes and ethnic groups. Culture contains languages, clothing patterns, moral and artistic values etc. To know who a people is and how they solve the issues of life confronting them necessitates delving into their cultures. Culture influences people's philosophy.This article intends to know who African people are, and how they solve the issue of gender as a global worry, African culture encourages male chauvinism, the tradition that enslaved women and all roundly oppresses and denies them off so many rights. Thus, this article questions the rationale behindthis master - slave treatment given to women in Africa: What prompted the issue of gender generally? Why did the Africans adopt male chauvinism? Are women not human beings like men? Are women not born the same with men? Do women not reason the same with men? Having dialogued on this issue, we discovered that culture and religion are the causes of the issue of gender which is more prevalent in Africa. The quest to tackle this issue, however, has provoked quagmire amongst the contemporary male/female philosophers, hence the emergence of the Feminism philosophy. The truth here, as this article concurrs to the feminism is that, there is no pole apart between men and women, if at all there is an atom of difference between them, it is only in degree and not in kind. Men and women are created the same and are naturally endowed with the natural right of reasoning; they came into existence equally, and depart existence via the same means. The two genders are important in life, and were purposefully created to complement each other to maintain order in the development and continuity of humanity. Therefore, as the Europeans have understood the God's cosmic plan on creation, and solved the problem of gender that boast their development, so Africans should realize, alter and amend those traditions that favor men and disfavor women, treat the two with respect, equity and justice to embrace all-round development too.