Drawing on ethnographic material from northern Mozambique, Sexuality and Gender Politics proposes a rethinking of feminist theory that challenges assumptions of male dominance and female subordination. According to Arnfred, such assumptions are so pervasive that they have blinded most observers including missionaries, anthropologists, development agencies and Frelimo, the party in power since independence, to what she calls ‘female gender power’ found in matrilineal societies, like the ones of northern Mozambique. Inspired by African feminists, Arnfred proposes we rid ourselves of the ‘universal patriarchy’ (p. 205) lens and turn to ‘tradition’ in order to imagine alternative futures.

Beautifully illustrated with woodcuts that evoke the themes of the different chapters, the book is divided into three parts. Part I offers a historical analysis of gender policies in Mozambique, and assesses their impacts on women's lives. Arnfred shows how, despite changes in the political economy and a passage from colonialism to neo-liberalism following a socialist interlude, official policies concerning women have been marked by striking continuity. Pushing the argument further, she suggests that, contrary to linear views that posit tradition as intrinsically patriarchal, modernisation has enhanced the oppression of women. The argument is also built on a comparative analysis between the patrilineal south and the matrilineal north. Part II focuses on female initiation rituals which have survived, despite a series of historical forces against them. This is a classic scenario: institutions that were expected to become obsolete with modernisation instead prove resilient, albeit in redefined forms. Arnfred delves into various strands of feminist theory to explain the resilience and meaning of these rituals. Part III, which examines matriliny more generally, further challenges the paradigm of male domination. Here, Arnfred points the finger at anthropologists for misunderstanding and misrepresenting matrilineal societies. She argues for a rethinking of food and sex as areas of female power rather than as forms of oppression.

As a compilation of previously published chapters and articles, the book takes the reader though Arnfred's intellectual and political journey. Throughout the book, she introduces various forms of power – husband power, gender power, female gender power, male power – that coexist, at times colliding, at others reinforcing each other. Though these powers are fleshed out with historical and ethnographic detail, they end up reifying the very categories that the author wishes to collapse. If most readers would agree with Arnfred that gender relations should be investigated and never assumed, her recommendation that ‘tradition’ can offer empowering messages is more contentious not only because tradition is often harnessed to do just the opposite, but also because traditions are inevitably contested. These problems aside, as a social history of gender politics in Mozambique the book makes a welcome contribution to Mozambican studies and will also interest feminists, especially those unfamiliar with the works of African feminist scholars.