| | It has been nearly a decade since ROAPE published its first issue specifically devoted to the situation of women in Africa, 'Women and Liberation' (no 27/28, 1994). As Roberts noted in her Debates piece then, 'Feminism in Africa; Feminism and Africa' , this was not the first time that articles dealing with questions of gender and women's struggles had been carried in ROAPE. But in highlighting this as area of concern, no 27/28 served to reinforce the necessity of bringing questions of gender relations under more direct scrutiny. Subsequent issues of ROAPE have continued to feature contributions dealing with women, bringing questions of gender into both broad debates and detailed case studies. This is an opportune moment, then, to devote an issue specifically to the subject, taking stock both of developments in Africa and of our own record in taking account of gender relations in Africa. |
