South African women sang these lyrics while protesting against the apartheid pass laws in the 1950s. The words are only one reminder among many that the African women's movement long preceded the international conferences, in Nairobi in 1985 and in Beijing in 1995, that have focused greater attention on women's rights in Africa as around the world. The women I grew up with were anything but silent.
African women do face particularly great obstacles.
Maternal mortality rates averaged 606 per 100,000 live births over the period 1980-1992, as compared with 7 for the U.S. and 351 for all developing countries. Women are particularly vulnerable victims of the continent's internal conflicts. Levels of domestic violence against women are very high, and even less well reported than in many other parts of the world. South Africa is the only African country that has enacted legislation outlawing domestic violence and marital rape. Yet there are significant advances which should be recognized.