Only specific titled women held public authority in pre-colonial Yoruba society

Evidence

Amadiume also places a more realistic frame above Oyĕwùmí’s analysis, arguing rather that not all women were equal to men in social standing, but certain groups of women were important public figures whose roles collapsed the divide between the public and private sphere. For example, women held positions of authority as chiefs, arbitrators in courts, village elders, leaders in wars and spirit mediums. These roles were, however, confined to specific “male daughters”, depending on their family lineage and other variables. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 968

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: Amadiume’s ‘male daughters’ concept qualifies Oyěwùmí’s claims of gender fluidity; relevant to internal feminist debates on African matriarchy.

Related

• Precolonial African women held public authority only as specific male daughters (similarity 0.92)
• Pre-colonial Yoruba society classed people by occupation, not gender (similarity 0.84)