Why am I passionate about this?
As a Moldovan emigrant growing up in Greece, I believed that Western institutions were centers of excellent knowledge. After studying in the USA and the UK and conducting research with Muslim and Christian communities in Africa, I became aware of colonial, ethnocentric, and universalizing tendencies in gender, religion, and domestic violence studies and their application in non-western contexts. International development had historically followed a secular paradigm congruent with Western societies’ perception of religion and its role in society. My work has since sought to bridge religious beliefs with gender analysis in international development work so that the design of gender-sensitive interventions might respond better to domestic violence in traditional religious societies.
Romina's book list on gender, religion, and domestic violence
Why did Romina love this book?
I read Nzegwu’s book after completing my PhD and it left a lingering impression on me.
Her work effectively challenged conceptualizations of gender that assumed an inherently hierarchical relationship between female and male. It also drew attention to the role of colonial laws and judicial edicts in promoting gender inequality in Nigeria’s Igbo society.
Nzegwu's discussion of the Onitsa dual-sex system that had historically embraced sexual difference but still granted women and men respective powers and responsibilities in society told a different story about gender relations in African societies prior to Western colonialism.
Nzegwu’s work echoes Oyěwùmí’s, and together they offer a window into alternative gender realities we can learn from.
1 author picked Family Matters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Charts new trends in gender studies through a compelling analysis of Igbo society.
- Coming soon!