Cori Wielenga. African Feminisms and Women in the Context of Justice in Southern Africa. Cham: Palgrave MacMillan, 2022. v + 117 pp. Index. $149.99. Hardcover. ISBN: 978-3030821272.

Abstract

Cori Wielenga’s edited volume, African Feminisms and Women in the Context of Justice in Southern Africa, provides detailed accounts of women’s roles in “justice on the ground” in several contexts across Southern Africa. The book very clearly frames what it is and what it is not; it is focused on providing thoughtful descriptions of women’s roles in these justice systems. It is not meant to be overly theoretical, but rather to illustrate, by way of description, the complex, nuanced, and important roles women play in these systems. Wielenga lays out the reasoning for this approach: most of the works by Western researchers that focus on women and what others may refer to as “traditional” or “non-state” justice tend to prioritize “questions of inclusivity, gender justice, and human rights” (vi), while remaining distant from on-theground dynamics. This book highlights those on-the-ground processes, without a Western, neocolonial gaze. Through a close examination of “on the ground justice,” this book emphasizes women’s unique and often overlooked role in justice processes. In these chapters, the authors make clear that even if women do not always hold the seemingly most powerful roles as chiefs or mediators (although sometimes they do), they nevertheless play a crucial role in the provision of justice. Two important themes emerged from the volume: the diversity of ways in which women influence “justice on the ground” and women’s prioritization of relational dynamics of justice. I will address each in turn. First, Wielenga’s volume helps “reveal the complex and organic ways in which women have power and influence in relation to justice on the ground whichmay not be immediately obvious” (21). These roles can be as diverse as older female family members, such as aunts, serving as first points of conflict resolution (Matsimbe, Murambadoro), as well as women serving as community court messengers, secretaries, or assessors (Bae et al.), chiefs of ten households or blocks, and doing conflict resolution in churches and social affairs groups (Matsimbe). These roles can bemore or less “official,” but their impact on resolving disputes and supporting the community is reflected in all