An Investigation of the Epistemology of African Feminist Knowledge Production in Nigeria

The epistemological foundations of African feminist scholarship in Nigeria are contested terrain, shaped by debates between universalist feminist theory, decolonial African feminist frameworks, and Islamic feminist perspectives that have not been subjected to rigorous philosophical inquiry. This study investigates the epistemological assumptions, knowledge production methods, and institutional conditions of African feminist scholarship in Nigeria. A constructivist interpretive paradigm underpins a qualitative design employing 55 in-depth interviews with Nigerian feminist scholars from all six geopolitical zones, supplemented by bibliometric analysis of gender studies publications from Nigerian institutions between 2015 and 2024 and critical discourse analysis of epistemological claims in selected feminist texts. Feminist standpoint epistemology, African philosophy of knowledge, and institutional sociology of knowledge guided the analytical framework. Findings reveal significant epistemological plurality within Nigerian feminist scholarship, with Southern-zone scholars more likely to engage international feminist theory and Northern-zone scholars more likely to develop Islamic feminist epistemologies. Institutional pressures toward publishability in international journals create epistemological isomorphism that disadvantages locally grounded knowledge claims. Male-dominated university hiring in gender-related disciplines creates epistemological barriers to feminist methodological pluralism. The study develops an original Pluralist African Feminist Epistemology (PAFE) model for Nigerian gender scholarship. This research makes a foundational contribution to feminist philosophy of knowledge in the African context. Keywords: feminist epistemology, African feminism, knowledge production, Nigeria, decolonisation