The African concept of a dual-sex system and Freir’s characteristics of dialogue as potential pivots of globalising world

Abstract

The idea of a dual-sex system, which scholars such as Sofola (1998) lobby for, is an aspect of African people's communalist philosophy that helped men and women complement each other in all life activities of a precolonial society. That concept helped push both men and women to realise that although they were biologically different, they were both vital actors in the process o f the society's growth and development. This article argues that if the concept of a dual-sex system is interpreted from an understanding o f Freire’s (1971)) characteristics o f dialogue it will have the potential to map out a gender-based framework for a globalising world. Therefore, this article discussses the possibility o f using indigenous African philosophies of gender as points of reference for action at a time when the world is being perceived to be ‘globalised’. The argument pursued in the article is that genuine globalisation cannot be attained outside a sound framework that can potentially deal with gender disparities that are currently rampant in Africa and the other societies of the world. This article relies on Sofola (1998) and Freire (1970) and on examples that are drawn from Shona culture to create an argument.