Feminist struggles in Africa are fought from various fronts, with the law representing but one of them. While law and judicial reforms are not a panacea for gender inequalities, the legal front is a central plank in this struggle as both shield and sword—a shield to protect women against discrimination and the violation of their fundamental rights, and a sword to challenge and overturn unjust sexist practices and to effect fundamental change to the status quo. While by no means a magic bullet the law can indeed be a critical game changer in the gender political landscape.
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Editorial
Legal Voice: Challenges and Prospects in the Documentation of African legal feminism
– by Sylvia Tamale and Jane Bennett
Feature Case Studies
Organizational activism
Seeking the Protection of LGBTI rights at the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights
– by Sibongile Ndashe
South African Engagement with Muslim Personal Law: the Women’s Legal Centre, Cape Town and Women in Muslim Marriages
– by Hoodah Abrahams-Fayker
The Kenyan Constitutional Reform Process: A Case Study on the work of FIDA Kenya in Securing Women’s Rights
– by Grace Maingi
“Personal” litigation
Legal Action to Stop Hotels Discriminating Against Women in Zambia
– by Sara Hlupekile Longwe
“What’s in a (Woman’s) Name?”: a personal case narrative
– by Doo Aphane
Standpoint
Crimes and Corrections: Bride Burners, Corrective Rapists, and Other Black Misogynists
– by Madhumita Lahiri
Profile
Review
Olonisakin, F. and A. Okech (eds.) 2011. Women’s Security Governance in Africa. Dakar, Nairobi: Pambazuka Press
– by Yaliwe Clarke