Precolonial African women held public authority only as specific male daughters

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

• DEFINE: The concept of ‘male daughters’ — women attaining male-coded authority via lineage — is a distinctive term worth pinning down.