Fahamu launches books on women's rights; China and Africa

* Grace, tenacity and eloquence: The struggle for women’s rights in Africa

The traditional perception of African women is that they face grinding poverty and harsh cultural, traditional and social prejudices. Yet while it is true that African women are not equal to men, this is only one part of the story.

For in Africa, women are fighting for their rights. And they are fighting with grace, tenacity and eloquence. The contributors describe how African women won a cross-continental campaign for a protocol to protect their rights. In a rich variety of articles, they consider topics such as: women and conflict, the impact of current US policies on women’s health in Africa, women’s rights in Islam, and the implications of the Jacob Zuma trial for women in South Africa.

The articles first appeared in the prize-winning weekly electronic newsletter, Pambazuka News. They provide an easy-to-read introduction to the struggle for women’s rights in Africa.

* African perspectives on China in Africa

China’s involvement in Africa has provoked much debate and discussion. Is China simply the latest imperial power out to exploit Africa’s natural resources, putting its own economic interests above environmental and human rights concerns? Or is China’s engagement an extension of ‘South–South solidarity’, enabling African countries to free themselves from the multiple tyrannies of Western debt, aid conditionality, unfair trading rules and political interference?

Much existing commentary on China focuses on the vested interests of the West. Lost in the cacophony have been the voices of independent African analysts and activists. Here, they present social, cross-continental perspectives on Chinese involvement in Africa in a unique collection of essays. The articles demonstrate that although there is no single ‘African view’ about China in Africa at a continental level, the authors are united in the belief that Africans must organise their side of the story, together, in their own interests, and in the interest of social justice for all.

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