After announcing that she does not engage with any feminist theory, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie sparked robust debate online regarding African feminism and the relevance, if any, of feminist theory within it. Although this online discussion was my first exposition to the debate, further research has shown that African feminists have long been speaking and writing about their unique interactions with feminist theory. Some like Chimamanda, argue that African feminism is inherently experience based and that African women have little to gain from the abstractness of theory. Contrarily, others like Dr. Sylvia Tamale, argue that feminist theory is invaluable because theorising helps us better understand and analyse how oppressive structures like patriarchy and capitalism manifest and affect our experiences as women. “When feminist theory does not speak to gender activism and when the latter does not inform the former, the unfortunate result is a halfbaked and truncated feminism” (Tamale, 2006).

On Chimamanda’s side of the coin, African feminists have argued that existing feminist theory is deeply centred on the West and that there are undertones of elitism and imperialism in calls for African feminists to engage with theory. These accusations are backed by the complex relationship Africans have with Western education as a result on colonialism, neo-colonialism and imperialism. While I agree there’s reason to be wary of formal western education being imposed, I would also argue that there’s also a lot to gain from feminist theory. For one, experiences are limited. A major benefit of feminist theory, at lease diverse feminist theory, is that it exposes feminists to other valuable and relevant experiences they may not necessarily encounter otherwise. More importantly, theory is able to take a birds-eye view of things and examine the nature of gender roles and gender politics through a myriad of lenses including psychology, philosophy, sociology and anthropology.

The debate regarding the relevance of feminist theory is not a straight-forward one. There are points to be made on the obvious gap between theory and activism, the need to decolonise theory and the importance of making theory accessible. While passionate debates can make matters seem hopelessly entangled, I think they serve as a vital opportunity to make headway on these issues.