Africa: The changing role of Africa's women

As African women take on new roles in government, business and other realms of modern life, their position in traditional society is also evolving and expanding into a domain long the stronghold of men. Chiefs, monarchs and regents across much of the continent have been almost exclusively male in accordance with customs of clearly defined and distinct spheres of influence between the sexes: public roles for men, domestic ones for the women. But beneath the outer vestiges of traditional power, some women have had a voice.