This is the second in a projected three-volume series which will be the standard for the English-speaking world when completed. This series will constitute a major, comprehensive bibliography of English-language works (over 4,100 will be cited in all) on women in Africa for the period 1976-1985; a follow-up volume (targeted for publication in 1993) will cover the years 1986-1990. . . . In Volumes 2 and 3, arrangement is by subject within both regional and national categories. Items are cross-referenced for maximum coverage. . . . Required for college and university libraries supporting African studies programs. Choice

As a result of the United Nations General Assembly's proclamation that the years 1976 to 1985 would be designated The United Nations Decade for Women, Equality, Development and Peace, there has been a proliferation of scholarly research on the status of women, and African women in particular, following a world conference in Mexico City in 1975. This bibliography brings together many English-language publications written about women in Northern, Western, and Central Africa during that decade. As part of a three-volume set this work includes materials divided into general subjects as well as regional and national topics.

Bullwinkle begins by describing the problems of women in Africa and the Third World. The extensive introduction provides a fascinating overview of the gains achieved by women since 1976, and discusses the inequalities that continue to exist. Presented in a logically arranged format, the citations include difficult-to-find materials such as articles appearing in edited books and journals, Masters theses, Ph.D. dissertations, conference papers, and monographs. Entries are cross-referenced by subject heading, covering such timely issues as cultural roles, divorce, equality and liberation, fertility and infertility, marital relations, religion and witchcraft, sex roles, and mass media. Examining a broad spectrum of social concerns pertaining to women, this comprehensive work greatly expands the availability of previously inaccessible information, and opens new avenues for research. Unlike any other reference in the field, Women of Northern, Western, and Central Africa represents a unique contribution to scholarship in the social sciences and African and women's studies, and, with its two companion volumes, contains the largest amount of material published on the subject to date. It will be an invaluable addition to all libraries, and a useful tool for those engaged in further research on the problems of the oppressed and underprivileged.

Women of Northern, Western, and Central Africa - sidottu, Englanti, 1989