by Sharon Adetutu Omotoso
Abosede Ipadeola’s Feminist African Philosophy is a compact book which offers insights into a hitherto under-researched area of African Philosophy. It is presented as a text big enough to educate and small enough to be read for both leisure and research. The main focus of the book is decolonising African feminism within the field of African Philosophy. The author addresses the exclusion, defamation, degradation, and dehumanisation of African women occasioned by the “maleness” of African Philosophy. It is a careful compendium of well-researched literature, providing a comprehensive analysis of precedents to general readers and beginners. At the same time, it contains a set of critical reflections for established scholars.
Ipadeola’s ability to read deeper meanings into texts affirms her depth as a philosopher. She questions several gaps left by ethnophilosophers, philosophical sages, nationalist ideological philosophers, and professional philosophers. She traces these to the ideas of “man of reason,” “gender of power,” “heroes,” and “fathers” which undergirded Western Philosophy and spilled over into African Philosophy by virtue of colonialism. Indeed, the author attempts to fill in the gaps and write women into African Philosophy. She does this by discussing selected concepts and ideologies, calling out eminent philosophers for their omissions or commissions. Ipadeola responds to identified gaps by offering the missing link, which she describes as “Feminist African Philosophy” (FAP).
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