African Journal of Gender and Women Studies

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 10, October 2026 | pp. 1–14

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001315

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Women in Artisanal Mining: Environmental Toxicity, Health Risks, and Informal Labor Rights

Names of Author: Abena Osei-Tutu¹, Javier Morales², & Ingrid Solberg³

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Environmental Science, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana; ²Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia; ³Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Abstract:
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining sustains millions of rural livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, with women comprising nearly half of the workforce in ore processing, sluicing, and amalgamating. Despite their indispensable economic contributions, female miners are systematically excluded from lucrative pit ownership and relegated to hazardous, low-paid tasks involving direct exposure to mercury and cyanide. Chronic chemical exposure poses severe reproductive health risks, including miscarriages and congenital complications, yet informal miners lack occupational healthcare and regulatory protection. This paper examines the gendered division of labor and environmental health vulnerabilities among female artisanal miners in Ghana and Colombia. Grounded in feminist political ecology and occupational justice frameworks, the study combines environmental health surveys with narrative interviews involving 64 female miners. We argue that formalizing artisanal mining requires gender-inclusive cooperative licensing, mercury-free processing technologies, and accessible rural maternal clinics.

Keywords: Artisanal mining, environmental toxicity, occupational health, feminist political ecology, informal labor, reproductive health, Ghana, Colombia

Manuscript Timeline: Received: August 02, 2026; Revised: September 05, 2026; Accepted: September 10, 2026; Published: October 15, 2026.

Citation: Osei-Tutu, A., Morales, J., & Solberg, I. (2026). Women in Artisanal Mining: Environmental Toxicity, Health Risks, and Informal Labor Rights. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(10), 1–14. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001315

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 251–264

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001313

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Feminist Urbanism and Gender-Sensitive Public Transit Design in Rapidly Growing Megacities

Names of Author: Funmilayo Adewale¹, Ji-Hoon Park², & Nadia Al-Khatib³

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria; ²Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; ³Department of Architecture and Urban Design, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.

Abstract:
Urban transport infrastructure in rapidly growing megacities is predominantly engineered around linear commuter journeys to central business districts, overlooking the complex, multi-stop mobility patterns of women who combine paid employment with caregiving errands. Inadequate street lighting, overcrowded transit hubs, and pervasive sexual harassment on public buses and trains restrict women’s freedom of movement and access to urban economic opportunities. This paper evaluates gender-sensitive urban planning interventions in Lagos, Seoul, and Amman. Anchored in feminist urbanism and spatial justice theory, the study combines mobile safety-mapping audits with travel diaries collected from 90 female commuters across diverse income brackets. The findings demonstrate that integrating women’s safety audits into municipal transport budgeting, improving first-and-last-mile pedestrian lighting, and establishing rapid-response harassment reporting mechanisms significantly enhance urban accessibility and gender equity.

Keywords: Feminist urbanism, public transit, spatial justice, women’s mobility, urban safety, megacities, gender-sensitive planning, harassment

Manuscript Timeline: Received: July 26, 2026; Revised: August 27, 2026; Accepted: August 31, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Adewale, F., Park, J.-H., & Al-Khatib, N. (2026). Feminist Urbanism and Gender-Sensitive Public Transit Design in Rapidly Growing Megacities. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 251–264. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001313

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 237–250

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001312

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Widowhood Rites, Property Dispossession, and Legal Advocacy in Contemporary African Societies

Names of Author: Akosua Mensah-Bonsu¹ & David Thorne²

Author's Affiliation: ¹Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana; ²School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Abstract:
Despite constitutional guarantees of gender equality and statutory intestate succession laws across many African jurisdictions, widows frequently confront humiliating mourning rituals, social ostracization, and forceful eviction from marital homes by extended patrilineal kin. Weak enforcement of inheritance statutes, high legal costs, and fear of spiritual reprisals often deter widowed women from seeking judicial remedies. Consequently, widowhood remains a major driver of sudden female poverty and intergenerational economic insecurity. This paper examines the persistent gap between statutory inheritance protections and customary widowhood practices in Ghana and Zambia. Utilizing feminist legal pluralism, the study analyzes court judgments, paralegal case files, and interviews with 40 widows and traditional leaders. We argue that bridging this implementation gap requires pairing community-based paralegal clinics with constructive dialogue involving progressive traditional authorities to reform harmful customary practices from within.

Keywords: Widowhood rites, property dispossession, inheritance law, feminist legal pluralism, customary law, legal advocacy, Ghana, Zambia

Manuscript Timeline: Received: July 24, 2026; Revised: August 25, 2026; Accepted: August 29, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Mensah-Bonsu, A., & Thorne, D. (2026). Widowhood Rites, Property Dispossession, and Legal Advocacy in Contemporary African Societies. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 237–250. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001312

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 223–236

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001311

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Gendered Food Security, Seed Sovereignty, and Agroecological Feminism in Rural Farming Systems

Names of Author: Beatrice Namukasa¹, Diego Alvarez², & Marie-Claire Tremblay³

Author's Affiliation: ¹School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; ²Department of Rural Sociology, National University of Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia; ³Department of Anthropology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Abstract:
Corporate agribusiness expansion and intellectual property regimes governing commercial hybrid seeds increasingly threaten smallholder farming systems and biodiversity across the Global South. Because rural women play central roles in selecting, saving, and exchanging indigenous seeds to ensure household dietary diversity, the privatization of seed systems directly undermines women’s agricultural autonomy and community food security. This paper explores how rural women farmers organize community seed banks and practice agroecological farming in central Uganda and southern Colombia. Anchored in agroecological feminism and food sovereignty frameworks, the study synthesizes participatory farm walks, seed-diversity inventories, and interviews with 55 female peasant farmers. The findings demonstrate that women-led seed networks preserve climate-resilient indigenous crops, reduce dependence on costly chemical inputs, and assert peasant women’s political agency against corporate agricultural monopolies.

Keywords: Seed sovereignty, agroecological feminism, food security, indigenous seeds, smallholder farmers, biodiversity, Uganda, Colombia

Manuscript Timeline: Received: July 22, 2026; Revised: August 24, 2026; Accepted: August 28, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Namukasa, B., Alvarez, D., & Tremblay, M.-C. (2026). Gendered Food Security, Seed Sovereignty, and Agroecological Feminism in Rural Farming Systems. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 223–236. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001311

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 209–222

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001310

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Literary Sisterhood and Afropolitan Identities in Contemporary African Women’s Fiction

Names of Author: Chimamanda Nwachukwu¹ & Sophie Van Der Berg²

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria; ²Department of Comparative Literature, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.

Abstract:
Contemporary African women writers living across continental and diasporic spaces have reshaped global literary landscapes by exploring transnational migration, belonging, and evolving gender identities. While critical debates around Afropolitanism often accuse diasporic narratives of privileging elite cosmopolitan mobility over localized socio-economic struggles, recent novels by African women complicate this binary by centering intimate bonds of female friendship across class and geographic borders. This paper examines how contemporary African women’s fiction portrays literary sisterhood as a site of emotional survival and feminist critique. Drawing on transnational African feminist literary theory, the analysis conducts close readings of novels by Akwaeke Emezi, Yaa Gyasi, and Maaza Mengiste. Through comparative textual analysis, we argue that depictions of cross-generational and cross-border female solidarity challenge patriarchal nationalism and articulate grounded, empathetic visions of African womanhood.

Keywords: African women’s fiction, Afropolitanism, literary sisterhood, transnational feminism, female friendship, postcolonial literature, identity, diaspora

Manuscript Timeline: Received: July 20, 2026; Revised: August 22, 2026; Accepted: August 26, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Nwachukwu, C., & Van Der Berg, S. (2026). Literary Sisterhood and Afropolitan Identities in Contemporary African Women’s Fiction. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 209–222. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001310

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 195–208

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001309

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Digital Gig Work, Platform Precarity, and Women’s Livelihoods in Urban Economies

Names of Author: Zainab Abubakar¹, Lucas Oliveira², & Ananya Dasgupta³

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria; ²Department of Sociology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; ³Centre for Labour Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.

Abstract:
App-based ride-hailing, domestic service platforms, and online freelance marketplaces are frequently marketed as flexible employment solutions enabling women to balance paid income with household care responsibilities. However, beneath the rhetoric of algorithmic flexibility, female gig workers confront opaque wage deductions, lack of maternity or health insurance, algorithmic deactivation without due process, and heightened physical safety risks during client interactions. This paper investigates the gendered realities of platform-mediated labor among female domestic cleaners and delivery couriers in Lagos, São Paulo, and Bengaluru. Utilizing feminist political economy and labor process theory, the study draws upon comparative survey data from 180 female gig workers and in-depth interviews with platform union organizers. The findings reveal that algorithmic management intensifies income insecurity while prompting women to form encrypted messaging networks for safety tracking, mutual aid, and collective strikes.

Keywords: Gig economy, platform labor, gendered precarity, feminist political economy, urban livelihoods, worker resistance, digital platforms, Global South

Manuscript Timeline: Received: July 18, 2026; Revised: August 20, 2026; Accepted: August 24, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Abubakar, Z., Oliveira, L., & Dasgupta, A. (2026). Digital Gig Work, Platform Precarity, and Women’s Livelihoods in Urban Economies. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 195–208. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001309