By Efua Prah
Efua is an associate professor of medical anthropology at the University of Johannesburg.
Her scholarly interests range widely and include anthropological theorisations in critical black studies, postcolonial studies and the emergent correlations between history and reproductive justice.
Efua says: “Across regions in Africa, notions and ideas of girlhood and womanhood differ. It is difficult to paint the same brush over the vast cultural, political and economic realities that shape who and what a girl and woman are and what roles they play in society.
“I think the one space through which conversations and practices can shift is through a more careful handling of how the legal system/legislature understands the placement of girls and women in society.
“If we can better facilitate a just system for women and girls, we can begin the important work of dismantling colonial patriarchal structures.”
