From writing new constitutions to serving in local and
national governance to sustaining NGOs and grassroots organizations to
making policy changes, women and feminist groups in Africa are doing the
difficult work of pushing local, state and international bodies to
implement and guarantee gender equality and justice at every level. A
group of scholars and activists draw on their experience in
multiple regions of Africa, discussing how women are participating in
the rebuilding of their societies - whether in post-conflict contexts or
in times of deep political transformation during revolutions, post-
revolutionary periods and transitions to democracy. Panelists include
Lila Abu-Lughod (Columbia University), Rabab El Mahdi (American University in Cairo),
Jane Bennett (African Gender Institute), and Penelope Andrews (CUNY
School of Law). This discussion, moderated by Rosalind Morris
(Columbia University), took place on the second day of
Activism and the Academy: Celebrating 40 Years of Feminist
Scholarship and Action, a two-day conference held September 23-24, 2011
in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Barnard Center for Research on
Women.