As Knowers and Narrators

A Case Study of African Girlhood

in Girlhood Studies
Author:
Sharon Adetutu OmotosoInstitute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2200-5286
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Ejemen OgbeborUniversity of Ibadan, Nigeria

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2023.160103
Keywords:
advocacy; challenges; detrimental agency; empowerment; feminist tactical-agency; girl-agency; girls’ summit; WORDOC
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Abstract

Expanded feminist narratives on the girl child have paid little attention to how young girls have become agents of their own change and sharers of their own knowledge. In this study, we spotlight girls’ agency reinforced by institutions that transform them from recipient to agents of change and resilience. In this qualitative study, we deploy critical analysis and reflective argumentation to underscore how Women's Research and Documentation Center (WORDOC) of the Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan provided Do-It-Yourself (DIY) tactics to girls aged 10 to 18 between 2018 and 2019 at its annual WORDOC Girls’ Summit. We explore a version of African girlhood aimed at presenting institutional impacts that offer platforms for girls’ self-empowerment and girl-agency in Nigeria.

Contributor Notes

Sharon Adetutu Omotoso (ORCID ID 0000-0003-2200-5286) is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan where she heads the Institute's Women's Research and Documentation Centre (WORDOC). She is a Research Associate of the University of Johannesburg and has published significantly in areas of research interest including Applied Ethics, Media and Gender Studies, Political Communications, and African Philosophy.

Ejemen Ogbebor is a doctoral student in Gender Studies at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan. Her areas of research interest include Media Studies, Gender Studies, and Political Communication

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Girlhood Studies

An Interdisciplinary Journal

Cover Girlhood Studies
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
19
Keywords:
advocacy; challenges; detrimental agency; empowerment; feminist tactical-agency; girl-agency; girls’ summit; WORDOC
Print Publication Date:
01 Mar 2023
Online Publication Date:
01 Mar 2023
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023

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