Gender and The Development of African Historiography in Contemporary Times

Abstract

The role of gender in African historiography has being a topic of interest in contemporary times. Since the late twentieth century, the literature on African women has grown immensely. This can be linked to a number of things, such as the political influence of the women's movement and the crisis of conventional development theory and practice, which led to the expansion of the women-in-development initiative. The expanding boundaries of historical epistemology and research, particularly the growing interest in and the creation of new methods to social history, have sparked interest in women's history especially where historiography is concerned. Historical records point to the fact that women continue to be mostly absent or inaccurately depicted in the forefront of African history despite the abundance of writing on women and women's history. They are either completely absent or are portrayed as innately inferior and subordinate, suffering under male oppression forever. Aside such notions, this paper will showcase the relevant roles gender has played in the development of historiography despite the diverse challenges experienced. It adopts mostly the qualitative method of historical research in its approach and strongly believes that greater diversity and inclusivity of gender in historical reconstruction will promote justice and fairness in the African society, and advance the development of historiography.