The lineage family in Africa is generally presented as a patriarchal
structure particularly oppressive for the African woman, which tends to
promote her submission and exploitation for the benefit of men. The Western
type of nuclear family is presented and perceived as an ideal model which
can ensure her greater freedom and happiness. Certain evolutionary
sociologists such as T. Parsons (1955) and W. Goode (1963) have even
seen this model as one towards which all family models are bound to
converge under the effect of "modernisation", a process of which women’s
emancipation is a part.
Moreover, the emergence of women as household heads in Africa is
being talked about more and more (Tichit, 1994). And this access of women
to the status of household head is to a greater or lesser degree seen as a
sign of increased autonomy and independence from the extended family
(Pilon, 1994). As a consequence there is reason to wonder what is the
behavior of female heads of households with regard to welcoming members
of the extended family within the nuclear family, notably as their socioeconomic
status improves. Do they continue to conform to traditional values
concerning the welcoming of other members of the extended family or do
they take this opportunity to "emotionally and economically nuclearise their
families" (Caldwell and Caldwell, 1987)? The objective of this study is to
answer these questions while attempting to compare the behavior of these
women with that of their male counterparts.