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Hanna HerzogSub-Saharan AfricaWhile it is generally true that the voices of women,
and Muslim women in particular, have been con-
spicuously absent from the political discourse con-
ducted in postcolonial Sub-Saharan Africa, there is
variation within the region. In light of this var-
iation, this entry addresses three questions: (1)
Where have Sub-Saharan African Muslim women
been most organized, politically active, and openly
supportive of the development of civil society? (2)
Why have Muslim women been more organized,
politically active, and openly supportive of democ-
racy in some countries of Sub-Saharan Africa than
in others? (3) How might democratization itself
affect the political influence of Muslim women in
Sub-Saharan Africa?
Of the Sub-Saharan African countries with a sig-
nificant Muslim presence, it is Nigeria where
Muslim women have been most organized, politi-
cally active, and openly supportive of democracy.
This does not mean that Muslim women have
always and everywhere enjoyed more social free-
doms and political rights in Nigeria than in other
countries. In fact, unlike Muslim women in other
countries of West Africa, such as Mali, Niger, and
Senegal, Muslim women in many predominantly
Muslim areas of northern Nigeria were not given
the right to vote at independence. In some parts of
northern Nigeria, women were not granted the
right to vote until 1976. At the dawn of the twenty-
first century, Muslim women in certain parts of
northern Nigeria continue to live in domestic seclu-
sion. However, in other parts of Nigeria, especially
western Nigeria, Muslim women have played a
more public and influential political role, even if it
has been less public and politically influential than
that played by men and non-Muslim women.
In Nigeria, organizations such as the Federation
of Muslim Women’s Associations of Nigeria
(FOMWAN) and Women Living Under Muslim
Laws (WLUML) were founded during the 1980s
and became forces for social and political change
during the 1990s (Callaway and Creevey 1994,
Quinn and Quinn 2003). These organizations have
sub-saharan africa 47been founded and/or led by relatively educated and
charismatic Muslim women, such as Haja Bilkisu
and Latifa Okunna of FOMWAN, and Ayesha
Imam of WLUML. FOMWAN and WLUML have
been dedicated to educating Muslim women about
their rights under Islamic law, encouraging faith-
fulness to that law in Muslim communities, and
promoting Islamic principles of justice and protec-
tion of the weak in the wider society (Dunbar
2000). FOMWAN became one of the major spon-
sors of the Muslim League for Accountability
(MULAC), which was founded to fight corruption
and to promote responsive government in Nigeria
(Quinn and Quinn 2003). Of the Muslim women’s
organizations in Nigeria, FOMWAN has been
especially important. Evidence of FOMWAN’s
importance includes the size and scope of the
organization and the attention and support it re-
ceives from the Muslim establishment.
In Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania,
Muslim women have also been relatively organized
and politically active (Strobel 1979, Mirza and
Strobel 1989, Hale 1996, Geiger 1997, Oded 2000,
Quinn and Quinn 2003). During the 1980s and
1990s, Muslim women became openly supportive
of democracy in these countries. In Kenya, the
voices of Muslim women were amplified during the
1990s through organizations with political agen-
das that include both men and women, such as the
Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM),
the Muslim Students’ Association at the University
of Nairobi and the Young Muslim Association
in Nairobi. SUPKEM included a Department of
Women’s Affairs, which, during the run-up to
national elections, conducted seminars in order to
promote political participation by Muslim women
and to educate Muslim women as to their rights
as citizens (Oded 2000). The Muslim Students’
Association and the Young Muslim Association in
Nairobi have included many young and educated
Muslim women who have been dedicated to pro-
moting participation in and support for Kenya’s
fledgling civil society. In South Africa, Muslim
women played an active part in organizations
intended to end apartheid and, during the 1990s,
women have added their voices to those of their
male counterparts in the Muslim Youth Movement,
calling for greater governmental transparency (Quinn
and Quinn 2003). In Sudan, the Sudanese Women’s
Union (WU), under the leadership of Fà†ima A™mad
Ibràhìm, was influential through the 1980s. During
the 1980s, women became increasingly involved
and openly vocal in the National Islamic Front
(NIF), an Islamist party that took control of gov-
ernment in 1989 (Hale 1996). Throughout the