Africa: The Journal of the International African Institute

This book compiles ethnographic research that the author conducted during the three decades of her intellectual and political liaison with Mozambique. By focusing on the country’s northern matrilineal Makhuwa, Signe Arnfred critiques second-wave Western feminists’ assumption of the universal subordination of women by illustrating how traditional matrilineal institutions such as female initiation rites, as well as women’s role in food preparation and sexual relationships, grant women autonomy and authority. Building on authors such as Ifi Amadiume, Sylvia Tamale and Oyèrónké Oyewùmí, the author calls for the decolonization of analyses of African gender relations towards an emic understanding of traditional social logics.

The book chapters, which are based on previously published articles, have been organized thematically rather than chronologically. Part I of the book reviews gender policies in Mozambique over three important political periods. Arnfred shows how colonialism, post-independence socialism and neoliberal policies, while adhering to different political ideologies, have been analogous in developing and implementing policies for women that constrain ‘female power’. This section reinforces her argument by showing that women’s resistance to male dominance and the pursuit of their own agendas are indicative of female African agency.

Part II delves into female initiation rites. It starts with a rich ethnographic description of such rites of passage that is also illustrated with photographs. The section goes on to clarify the rationale for the maintenance of female initiation rites despite the abaixo (‘down with’) politics of socialism and the policies of structural adjustment programmes imposed during the present neoliberal period. Part III expands on matriliny in northern Mozambique and develops the author’s argument regarding the erroneous perception of anthropologists and feminists who assumed that such organizational systems were rooted in patriarchy, thus denying women power and agency. Arnfred contends that it is worrisome that politicians, NGOs and donor strategies to ameliorate Mozambican women’s position and quality of life have been – and continue to be – grounded in these deeply problematic assumptions.

This is a long-awaited book for Mozambican gender studies. The rich data collected over such a long term constitute a major contribution to the disciplines of anthropology and gender studies. Indeed, the book provides an opportunity to highlight the specificities of Lusophone Africa in the gender and feminist debate on the continent. That notwithstanding, the book also presents some challenges: the analysis of women in the present-day matrilineal system does not give the reader a holistic sense of the role, lieu and capacity of women to exercise agency throughout their lifecycles. Indeed, the descriptions focus on the sexual initiation in adolescence as well as senior/older women either leading the initiation rites or at OMM (Organização da Mulher Moçambicana, the national women’s organization). If one proceeds from the understanding that traditions are invented and thus contested, the reification of tradition, which stands at the core of Arnfred’s argument, becomes problematic. Finally, the book can be somewhat repetitive, which may be a result of the fact that it is a compilation of previously published articles. [End Page 737]