Pretoria - The role of women in shaping the narrative about Africa's liberation is often forgotten when recounting the continent's history.
This was said by Unisa executive director for leadership and transformation, Professor Zodwa Motsa Madikane, during the institution’s 2021 Founders Lecture hosted under the theme, Explorations in Reclaiming Africa’s futures on Tuesday evening.
Madikane was challenging a speech delivered by renowned scholar Professor Mamadou Diouf from Columbia University, who was criticised for having omitted the role played by women in the development of Africa.
"I was quite impressed by the omission of women in the narrative tonight.
“The thing that impressed me is the very irony of the fact that almost three-quarters of the lecture was telling us about the battalion of men that have carried knowledge; that have done a whole lot of things, until I began to wonder if I am still on Mother Earth," she said.
Madikane lamented the fact that modernity seemed to shower praises on men for knowledge creation.
"Modernity seems to give privilege to the patriarchal power of knowledge of men and it forgets that it is the role of women in Africa to tell the tale; to disseminate knowledge; to be the custodian of the language and knowledge that is being given to the baby while the baby is being nursed," she said.
She further said it was important for the work of women to be chronicled in light of efforts by Africa to reclaim its past and the future.
Madikane also talked about the importance of understanding the African identity and indigenous knowledge system.
"The braiding of our hair is not for the sake of decoration but it tells a story. The way we dress is not for the sake of just looking nice. The way we dance and the way we call out our clan names is not just for jol but it is a way of saying we know where we come from," she said.
In response, Diouf apologised for having left out women in the narrative about Africa, which placed men as critical role-players.
Diouf said: "The basis of the future is about thinking of ourselves and understanding ourselves, having our own agenda on the basis of our culture and not trying to develop ourselves outside our culture.
Why? Language is important. But the problem is in all our countries we are still holding on to colonial language, including me."
One of the speakers was Unisa's Professor Monde Ntwasa, who said that colonisation was not only about the taking of land, but it also involved the subjugation of the mind.
"Reclaiming our future must involve reclaiming the past, that has been taken away from us. Historians must ask critical questions such as: Why did this erasure of Africa from history occur? Who was behind it?
“Whoever they were, are they still around and have they changed their minds? Would they allow Africans to reclaim their history?" Ntwasa said.
Pretoria News