Ifi Adadiume contrasts the collectivist, humanist culture of traditional African matriarchal heritage with the corrupt and oppressive culture of the imperialism that is the heritage of contemporary elite-led women''s organizations. Amadiume examines the activities of such organizations in Nigeria, making comparisons with those in Britain and South Africa as well as in international movements; looking at Beijing International Women''s Conferences, she explores internationalism as an instrument of class reproduction. Here Amadiume provides a detailed account of the structures and workings of local government in Nigeria and Britain as she raises theoretical and policy issues about civic groups, civil society and the nature of the late twentieth-century state. Finally, she draws lessons from her own experiences working in local government to suggest measures for true gender equity and the democratisation of politics in our increasingly multicultural and multiethnic societies. Bringing Amadiume''s groundbreaking insights to a new generation of readers, this Essential Amadiume edition asks hard questions of modern feminist movements that are still too-often sidelined in Western-centric debates.

Autorentext
Ifi Amadiume is a award-winning poet and a political activist as well as an academic. She has lived in Nigeria and the UK and is currently a professor at Dartmouth College, USA. There, she teaches both in the Department of Religion and on the African-American Studies Programme. Professor Amadiume is author of the influential Male Daughters, Female Husbands (Zed Books, 1988) which won the Choice Outstanding Academic Book of the Year award in 1989.