African Journal of Gender and Women Studies

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 97–110

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001302

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Menopause, Workplace Policy, and the Invisible Aging of Women in Corporate Leadership

Names of Author: Dr. Astrid Lindholm¹

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Gender and Work Organization, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

Abstract:
While corporate diversity initiatives have increasingly addressed pregnancy, parental leave, and early-career mentorship, midlife transitions such as perimenopause and menopause remain shrouded in institutional silence. Even in Nordic welfare states renowned for gender-egalitarian labor policies, persistent cultural taboos around female aging lead many experienced women to scale back career ambitions or exit senior roles due to unmanaged symptoms and lack of workplace accommodations. This paper explores how organizational cultures frame menopausal bodies and evaluates emerging workplace menopause policies in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Anchored in feminist embodiment theory and organizational sociology, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with 42 midlife female executives and human resource directors. The findings indicate that isolated wellness perks are insufficient without dismantling ageist and sexist norms that equate professional competence with youthful, linear bodily performance.

Keywords: Menopause, workplace policy, gendered ageism, feminist embodiment, corporate leadership, midlife women, work organization, Europe

Manuscript Timeline: Received: July 02, 2026; Revised: August 08, 2026; Accepted: August 12, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Lindholm, A. (2026). Menopause, Workplace Policy, and the Invisible Aging of Women in Corporate Leadership. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 97–110. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001302

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 84–96

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001301

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Islamic Feminism, Legal Reform, and Family Law Activism in North Africa

Names of Author: Prof. Leila Benali¹

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Sociology and Law, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco.

Abstract:
Debates surrounding women’s legal rights in North Africa have long been polarized between secular feminist movements and conservative religious establishments that claim patriarchal family codes are divinely ordained. Navigating this ideological impasse, Islamic feminist scholars and legal activists have pioneered progressive hermeneutics that reinterpret foundational religious texts through principles of justice, equality, and human dignity. Their advocacy has been instrumental in challenging discriminatory statutes governing marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. This paper analyzes the strategies and achievements of Islamic feminist legal reform coalitions in Morocco and Tunisia between 2011 and 2025. Utilizing feminist legal theory and textual discourse analysis, the study examines judicial rulings, parliamentary submissions, and interviews with female jurists and theologians. I argue that by reclaiming religious authority from within, North African women dismantle false binaries between faith and gender equality while advancing substantive legal protections.

Keywords: Islamic feminism, family law reform, North Africa, feminist hermeneutics, women’s legal rights, gender justice, Morocco, Tunisia

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 29, 2026; Revised: August 05, 2026; Accepted: August 09, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Benali, L. (2026). Islamic Feminism, Legal Reform, and Family Law Activism in North Africa. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 84–96. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001301

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 70–83

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001300

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Indigenous Women’s Sovereignty, Climate Resilience, and Sacred Ecology in Oceania

Names of Author: Dr. Aroha Te Whare¹

Author's Affiliation: ¹School of Māori and Pacific Studies, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Abstract:
Rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and extreme weather events pose existential threats to island nations across the Pacific, disproportionately impacting Indigenous women whose livelihoods and cultural identities are intimately tied to marine and coastal ecosystems. Yet international climate governance frameworks frequently treat Pacific peoples as passive victims of inevitable displacement rather than sovereign knowledge-holders. Within Indigenous Pacific worldviews, genealogical kinship connects women directly to land and ocean, positioning female elders as vital guardians of biodiversity and customary resource management. This paper examines how Māori and Fijian women mobilize indigenous ecological knowledge to lead community-based climate adaptation initiatives. Grounded in Indigenous feminist theory and Pacific relational ontologies, the study synthesizes talanoa dialogue sessions with 35 female community leaders and elders. The findings underscore that genuine climate justice requires centering Indigenous women’s governance authority and protecting customary marine tenure systems.

Keywords: Indigenous feminism, climate resilience, Pacific studies, sacred ecology, women’s sovereignty, Oceania, traditional knowledge, environmental governance

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 26, 2026; Revised: August 02, 2026; Accepted: August 06, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Te Whare, A. (2026). Indigenous Women’s Sovereignty, Climate Resilience, and Sacred Ecology in Oceania. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 70–83. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001300

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 57–69

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001299

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Gendered Precarity and Collective Bargaining Among Women in the Global Garment Supply Chain

Names of Author: Dr. Mei-Ling Chen¹

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Sociology and Social Policy, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract:
Fast-fashion supply chains rely heavily on the flexibilized labor of young women working in export-processing zones across Asia and East Africa. While corporate social responsibility audits claim to safeguard worker welfare, intense production quotas, short-term contracts, and gender-based verbal harassment remain endemic on factory floors. Furthermore, male-dominated trade union leadership structures frequently sideline women’s specific demands regarding maternity protection, childcare support, and safe transit. This paper investigates how female garment workers build independent shop-floor solidarity and negotiate improved working conditions in Cambodia and Ethiopia. Anchored in feminist labor geography, the research draws upon comparative factory case studies and 50 semi-structured interviews with female workers and union organizers. The analysis demonstrates that women-led worker committees effectively leverage transnational consumer campaigns alongside localized wildcat strikes to challenge exploitative labor regimes and democratize union governance.

Keywords: Garment industry, gendered labor, collective bargaining, feminist labor geography, supply chains, worker solidarity, Asia, East Africa

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 24, 2026; Revised: July 30, 2026; Accepted: August 03, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Chen, M.-L. (2026). Gendered Precarity and Collective Bargaining Among Women in the Global Garment Supply Chain. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 57–69. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001299

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 43–56

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001298

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Afro-Latin American Feminisms and Territorial Resistance Against Extractivism in South America

Names of Author: Dr. Camila Montoya-Silva¹

Author's Affiliation: ¹Institute for Gender and Cultural Studies, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.

Abstract:
Large-scale mining, agribusiness expansion, and hydroelectric megaprojects across South America disproportionately displace rural Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities, destroying vital ecosystems and ancestral territories. Within these frontlines of environmental conflict, Afro-Latin American women have emerged as fierce defenders of land, water, and collective survival, framing ecological devastation as an assault on the female body and community sovereignty. Despite facing state criminalization and targeted violence, female territorial leaders articulate a distinct political vision that links anti-racism, gender justice, and environmental stewardship. This paper examines the activism of Quilombola and Afro-Colombian women’s movements resisting extractive industries in Brazil and Colombia. Utilizing decolonial and Afro-Latin feminist frameworks, the study analyzes movement manifestos, oral testimonies, and participatory mapping workshops. Through discourse analysis, I illustrate how Afro-descendant women redefine sustainable development by prioritizing communal land tenure, ecological reciprocity, and intergenerational care over capitalist extraction.

Keywords: Afro-Latin feminism, extractivism, territorial resistance, environmental justice, Quilombola women, decoloniality, Brazil, Colombia

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 21, 2026; Revised: July 28, 2026; Accepted: August 01, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Montoya-Silva, C. (2026). Afro-Latin American Feminisms and Territorial Resistance Against Extractivism in South America. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 43–56. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001298

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 29–42

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001297

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Decolonizing Trauma: Black Feminist Epistemologies and Community Healing in the African Diaspora

Names of Author: Prof. Maya Linwood-Carter¹

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of African American and Diaspora Studies, Howard University, Washington, D.C., United States.

Abstract:
Mainstream Western clinical psychology often pathologizes distress through individualistic diagnostic frameworks that overlook the historical, racial, and gendered dimensions of intergenerational trauma. For Black women navigating systemic racism, economic precarity, and patriarchal violence across the diaspora, conventional mental health interventions frequently feel alienating or culturally unresponsive. In response, Black feminist practitioners and community organizers have cultivated holistic healing methodologies rooted in ancestral memory, somatic storytelling, and collective care. This paper explores community-based mental health initiatives led by Black women in the United States and the United Kingdom. Grounded in Black feminist epistemology and decolonial psychology, the study analyzes participatory healing circles and narrative interviews with 32 facilitators and participants. The findings reveal that centering culturally grounded, relational healing practices disrupts medicalized isolation, affirms embodied resilience, and transforms personal recovery into a catalyst for collective social justice.

Keywords: Black feminist epistemology, decolonial psychology, intergenerational trauma, community healing, African diaspora, mental health, somatic care, solidarity

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 18, 2026; Revised: July 25, 2026; Accepted: July 29, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Linwood-Carter, M. (2026). Decolonizing Trauma: Black Feminist Epistemologies and Community Healing in the African Diaspora. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 29–42. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001297