ABSTRACT:

Definitely gender in African context means women and everything that has to do with them. There is no better way to bring these issues to the fore than in conflicts which always affect women more negatively because they are not always recognized or addressed by the mainstream. As enshrined in the African socio-cultural strata, women especially have not always been privileged to express themselves in actions or in responsibilities towards life and self despite the acclaimed civilisation in the post-colonial era. The aim in this paper tends towards proper understanding of African gender perspectives and mostly on the post-colonial set up which tends from just being observant in the scheme of things in the society. We adopt the non-violence approach in addressing the conflicts of interests on gender inequalities which affect women in Africa. In line with this, we shall discuss primarily Africa scenario in line with gender issues. The study challenges Western conceptions of development propagated through various UN developments Decades and its prescriptions for gender equity as being devoid of the cultural context of African societies and hence incapable of promoting sustainable development. For all their seeming commitment to social equity, both the human development strategy and the gender and development approach originated from western conceptions of economic and social realities. However, African culture cannot be romanticised as there are certain aspects of it which marginalise, inhibit and subordinate women. As long as the goals of development are sustained improvements in people’s welfare, such practices would need to be changed. The study recommends future strategies for mainstreaming gender in development including individual based principles/programmes that will not only improve African development but sustainable development in the world.