Africa has its own unique culture, history, religious perspectives and socio-political background. Thus, on those controversial issues like gender, theories and principles which emanate from Westerners failed to suit the reality of the continent since such issues did originate from a given nation’s real background.
Among these debatable issues, in the process of examining gender based discriminations and inclusions, basing the actual life of the society and understanding the cultural background did mean the very addressable point to mirror the issue and frame it appropriately in a theory form. In line with this idea, many scholars, especially Africans have been proposing theories which exclusively address African real background on certain subjects.
Feminism, as a leading controversial phenomenon, has been passing through lots of proposals or perspectives in dealing African women gender based experiences. In relation with the above mentioned logic, African scholars propose theories that disguise African women at every edge of the social, cultural, economic and political realities. The dominant theoreticians raise their pen from Nigeria particularly Igbo tribe to deal with the socio-cultural backgrounds of the continent that intervenes the equal participation of women with men on different stages, and to frame the causes for solution. To mention some of these, Chimamanda Adichie, Akakia Ezigabo, Obioma Nneameka, Alice Walker and others. These feminists and critics commonly raise the idea and necessity of negotiation as a perfect solution for gender equality in the continent.
The crucial point under this principle is the following reality of Africa. Primarily, African people are characterized by the give and take principle. The culture oriented the people that if they take something from someone, it is culturally taboo to keep it without returning it with its equivalent compensation. If a person goes to someone with a gift, it is culturally expected that that person will return it with another gift or ceremony in most African countries as the 2003 Nneameka’s study on the continent showed. Ethiopians’ experience is not different from the orientation mentioned above.
Secondly, Africa is a heterogeneous or familial based nation. This did mean that Africans are dependent on women to men marriage.
Thus, negotiation between the two counterparts is very relevant for fruitful family and societal formation and nation building at large. Ethiopians, as it is actually detected, are religiously, culturally and even legally heterogeneous. Thus, marriage between men and women, which does mean sustaining the institution of giving and taking principle between the two, has been the trend though male domination and female subordination is prevalent till these days. Thirdly, Africans believe and base their life on a sharing principle. Giving what the person has as his own private asset to someone who needed it is very usual and a predictable practice since long years in the continent. In Ethiopia too, even though the extent of kindness might vary in the different sections of the societies, sharing what someone has is the most vital and deeply embedded cultural practice.
As the theoretician proposes, in the process of negotiation, things that are going to be exchanged are very important for both parties. Because of this, to end up in a win-win principle, the two parties should be very strategic in their approach. In the study of gender, especially the negotiation, Nneameka asserted that the process is highly dependent on the skill of the woman rather than the man since the continent is greatly characterized by rooted patriarchy.
As a patriarchal nation, African women keep voiceless and vulnerable sections of the society. Thus, finding the space for expressing themselves requires being very tactical and very effective to achieve the goal which is set by them. Having the attention and beyond that persuading the man for negotiation requires a very especial smartness, confidentiality and optimistic point of view of the woman rather than man in African real perspective.
In Ethiopia too patriarchy is the remaining and highly impressing factor even at this age of modernity. Since the culture and religiously abused norms and practices still dominate the society, women have been struggling for equal inclusion and to sustain the marriage for many social related consequences. The problem still continues as an issue with the presence of massive institutions and organizations both at governmental and non-governmental level. Therefore, Ethiopian women needed to be very cautious when dealing with men around them as their African sisters.
Thus, based on these mentioned traits of Africa and Ethiopia, the principle of negotiation is framed so that endorsing and amplifying it to be implemented between men and women in the house and in the society is the very practical and comparatively easiest move for the betterment of gender discrimination and underdevelopment.
As the principle of negotiation which was boldly framed by Obioma Nneameka (2004) under the umbrella of Nego Feminism, Ethiopians, as it is said above, have esteemed culture of sharing principle, the people prefer to give before receiving from others. The religious background has also been obliging the society to prioritize the needs of others over self-interest. This reality of the country did sound like the principle of negotiation. Thus, though the women are muted sections, the culture and the religion could help them find a space for getting the attention of the man. This is very successful, as Nneameka asserted, with the smartest approach of the women.
In the deal of women and men relationship and exposure too, these backgrounds matter a lot in certain areas of concern. Though the nation is characterized by male supremacy, identifying and uplifting those cultures and fighting the abusive and promoting the impressive trends is very vital for balancing the two counterparts at every share of the nation building process.
Nneameka advised African women to be strategic in identifying the appropriate time and situation before appealing to the men for negotiation. Ethiopian women, as can be referred from different literary genres like folktales and proverbs which echo the real life of the society, are very cautious and stylish in choosing the time and conditions before approaching their men for compromise.
Lots of literary materials convey the efficacy of Ethiopian women in applying various mechanisms to find the sympathy of the men for gaining what they needed from them. For the success of negotiation, the woman primarily is expected to know and understand the strong and weak sides and sensitive parts of her man. Thus, before acting, the woman should identify these things. Next to this, the way of the approach did matter very much. The way of dressing, the body movement, the language and overall style need to be very influential for the give and take process to happen.
These days, though women are massively availing themselves at certain competitive areas, the persuasive and soften strategies of getting the positive rewards of their men seems diminishing since the generation, I believe, loses or degrades the life path of the previous generation. Thus, dragging the influential practices and strategies of the society in the past; and contextualizing some relevant aspects in the current status of the culture could be a basement for even including other additional strategies for negotiation so that for strengthening the principle between men and women which did mean boosting the culture of negotiation between the two parties and the society and for the long ran transformation of the nation in all aspects of development.
In conclusion, dealing with the elements or practices of the African and Ethiopian women using this principle can help to find out very important trends so as to strengthen the essence of negotiation at certain levels. In Ethiopia, researchers and responsible stakeholders need to examine and analyze those approaches and trials that women at different levels apply for heeding negotiations with men as a husband, brother, father, fiancée, spouse or friend for achieving a certain goal. With such a study, those very relevant strategies and moods can be figured out and utilized with certain subjects and/or some other appropriate medium to make them familiarized by the society. Thus, as this article believed, if negotiation is successfully implemented in the house, it could lay its base for nation based agreement and peaceful and prosperous universe at large.
BY MEKDES TAYE (PhD)
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 16 MAY 2024
