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Claire Robertson: Economic Roles of African Women
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Claire Robertson, associate professor
of history at Ohio State University and professor in the department
of women's studies, explains how the roles of African women are defined
by an ongoing struggle for both economic and political rights. Common
methods of separating economic and political rights into two separate
fields of study is inadvisable, says Robertson, due to the effect
that women's economic growth has on increasing women's political opportunities.
Across Africa, says Robertson, women have used trade networks to organize
across wide areas, enabling them to hone their organizational skills
and build communications networks. She notes that African women's
involvement in business leads to at least partial economic rights,
forming a basis for their push for political rights. As a means to
analyse how African women developed rights out of trade, Robertson
looks at the communities of women traders in Accra, Ghana, and Nairobi,
Kenya. African women have been excellent about using their resources
to help their families. By extension, says Robertson, "If an ethic
of social responsibility does not accompany success in business...then
women have ducked fulfilling the imperative needs of the world."
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