African Women in Politics in Ousmane Sembene's God's Bits of Wood

From pre – colonial to colonial to post pre –colonial periods, women in Africa have a long and varied history of political activism. African women have participated in political parties, women's movements, national liberation movements, and other social movements. Additionally, they had to deal with patriarchal structures and culture's opposition. These could be attributed to several cultural restraints in African society. Therefore, this paper examines the political and cultural restraints faced by African women in Ousmane, Sembene’s “God’s Bits of Wood.” It methodologically looks at how the women characters from the novel broke away from the stereotypes of subjecting them to second class citizens and actively participated in politics that liberated their country. It concludes by suggesting that more women should play active roles in politics irrespective of cultural restraints