THE ROLE OF NNEWI MARKET WOMEN IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY SINCE THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

The role of Nnewi women in African historiography has become atopic of interest in contemporary history. Despite the quantity ofwriting about women and women's history, the evidence availableindicates that these women are still either rarely or wrongly portrayedas leading figures in works of African history literature. The fewexisting works tend to capture or portray them as innately passive,inferior and subordinate, suffering under male oppression forever.Against this backdrop, the paper will showcase the relevant rolesNnewi market women have played in the development ofhistoriography. The question is, what have Nnewi Market womencontributed to developing historiography as a discipline.What werethe specific roles these women played in the study of history. Thepaper establishes that through their economic activities, politicalstruggles, and socio-cultural activities, Nnewi market women havechallenged and, by extension, encouraged the reevaluation oftraditional narratives that portray women as passive actors in thespheres, as mentioned earlier, despite the diverse challenges theyexperience. As a means of examining the role of Nnewi marketwomen in shaping gender discourses in African historiography, thispaper relied on primary and secondary sources such as oralinterviews and scholarly works on African women's history/studiesin books, journal articles, internet materials, and etcetera. It adoptsthe qualitative method of historical research(descriptive essay) in its approach to data analysis and strongly argues that greater diversity and inclusivity of gender in historical reconstruction will promote justice and fairness in African society and advance the development of historiography.