Ifi Amadiume

Ifi Amadiume (born 1947) is a Nigerian academic, writer, poet, and activist known for her work on gender, sexuality, African feminism, and Igbo studies. She is a prominent figure in African feminist thought and scholarship, challenging Western-centric feminist theories and highlighting the complexities of gender roles and power dynamics within African societies.

Amadiume’s research focuses on pre-colonial Igbo societies in Nigeria, demonstrating the existence of flexible gender systems and female autonomy. She argues against the imposition of Western binary gender categories onto African cultures, asserting that gender roles were more fluid and that women held significant economic, political, and social power in many pre-colonial African contexts.

Her best-known work, Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society (1987), examines the Nnobi Igbo community in Nigeria, where she found women occupying roles traditionally associated with men, such as inheriting property and acting as "male daughters." This research challenged essentialist notions of gender and offered an important perspective on the diverse ways in which gender is constructed and performed across cultures.

Amadiume has also written extensively on the impact of colonialism, Christianity, and globalization on African gender relations. She argues that these forces have often disrupted traditional social structures and contributed to the erosion of women’s power. She is a strong advocate for African women's rights and for reclaiming indigenous knowledge systems as a means of addressing contemporary challenges.

In addition to her academic work, Amadiume is a published poet and novelist. Her creative writing often explores themes of gender, identity, and social justice.

Amadiume holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. She has held teaching positions at several universities, including Dartmouth College and the University of California, Davis.