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Fighting Two Colonialisms
Guinea-Bissau, a small country on the West Coast of Africa, had been a colony of Portugal for 500 years, and with the 1926 rise of a Portuguese fascist dictatorship, colonization of the country became both brutal and complete. In 1956 the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was founded by Amilcar Cabral and a few country people. At first PAIGC's goal was to organize workers in the towns, hoping that through demonstrations and strikes they would convince the Portuguese to negotiate for independence. It soon became clear that this approach to independence would not work. Each demonstration was met with violence, until the 1959 massacre of fifty dockworkers holding a peaceful demonstration at Pidgiguiti. This was a turning point for they realized that independence could not be won without an armed struggle, one that had to be based on the mass participation of the people. This book focuses on the way in which PAIGC ideology integrated the emancipation of women into the total the way it emphasized the need for women to play an equal political, economic, and social role in both the armed struggle and the construction of a new society.
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1979
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January 29, 2026
This book has two parts, Part I takes place in the liberated zones, during the PAIGC’s armed struggle against the Portuguese. Part II is after Guinea-Bissau’s independence, two years after Urdang’s first visit to the country. There are eleven chapters in this book, a Preface and Acknowledgements, Introduction, Map, and a Notes section. The Notes section is brief as this is a primary source. Included in between chapters 1 & 4, 4 & 5, 7 & 8, and 8 & 9 are photographs taken by the author. For the body of this review I will highlight three of the most important chapters. In my conclusion I will give my criticisms, comments, and recommendations.
Chapter 2 “What can we consider better than freedom?”
According to Urdang, Portugal did the least in developing its colonies when compared to the other colonial powers. This resulted in Guinea-Bissau being one of the most underdeveloped nations in the African continent. Two major statistics to demonstrate this underdevelopment is the illiteracy rate being at 99% and the infant mortality rate being 60%. PAIGC’s first actions were peaceful (demonstrations and strikes) in an attempt to negotiate with the Portuguese. The Pidgiguiti massacre of August 1959 was the turning point for PAIGC; they decided to respond with counter-violence.
Some of the theories that are discussed I agree with, and other bits I find questionable. The lines on mass participation being a prerequisite for mass support of armed struggle, the necessity to develop theory for one’s own material conditions, and the first task when preceding after study being social investigation and class analysis, I support. The lines on “labels” not being of importance and “irreversible change” occurring in guerillas after armed struggle I question. Paulo Freire’s pedagogy is described when Urgdang writes that the leaders of PAIGC learned from the peasants and the peasants became leaders through the party. Social mobility is identified as a key element in raising the consciousness of young unemployed Africans.
Chapter 5 “We are part of the same fight”
In this chapter practical steps and scientific analysis are demonstrated in the reporting of Urdang. Guerilla camps were training grounds for men and women of the villages to contribute to the revolution, whether as guerillas or other supporting tasks. Women’s potential as a formidable revolutionary force is explained, that because of their oppression that they could go further than solely liberating themselves and could dismantle the oppressor of the whole society. Political institutions are the organizations that protect and continue to develop the rights gained from struggle. The national liberation struggles of Algeria and Vietnam, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau were compared briefly; the main difference was the political ideology that in the latter meant “...liberation of women is emphasized in order for socialism to become a reality.”
I appreciate the comparison of different national liberation struggles because it distinguishes characters of revolutionary and reactionary nationalism. Authority and force is needed at times as in the case of the PAIGC directive that stated in relation to the defense of the rights of women that they would “...make others respect them…” as well as that they would respect and defend them. A concrete step towards women’s liberation that the party took and one that Urdang wrote as being “One of the most important steps…” was the requirement of two women in the five-member village councils that were organized once a zone was liberated. This gave way for a qualitative change, putting women in a decision-making body made them into leaders and equalized them with men. A scientific approach to development was expressed by PAIGC cadres that practical steps were needed to solve these problems and that ideological development is uneven among individuals and communities.
Chapter 8 “At the same time fighting for personal independence”
In this chapter the amount of women cadre being small is explained to be a reflection of the stage of development for women’s opportunities in Guinea-Bissau. There was a necessity and desire to train and develop women cadres. The placement of women in councils without them being prepared for those roles would amount to tokenism. Teodora Gomes expressed the idea that: “The domination of women is the result of economic domination.”. I think this economic domination can be combated through personal development and social change.
I feel happy when I read that the USSR trained and educated PAIGC cadres. Francisca Pereira shared the perspective that: “It is not enough to fight for political independence, if we are not at the same time fighting for personal independence.”. PAIGC started the war with three male nurses and by the end had five hundred nurses, more than half of them being women. The work of a health responsavel was political and educational. “Even though few women went into combat, all cadres, whether male or female, attended the political and military training…before taking up their first assignment…”. This is an example of a militarized party.
I enjoyed reading this book, a mixture of theory and documentation of successful practice. At the beginning Urdang discusses her funding, this aspect of the movement is so important. We have to be able to fund projects like these so we can learn from the work of our comrades. I would like for there to be an additional reading section in this book, for those interested in Guinea-Bissau in particular or women’s liberation in general. I recommend reading this book to understand the centrality of women’s liberation in our goal of national liberation, and ultimately world revolution.
Chapter 2 “What can we consider better than freedom?”
According to Urdang, Portugal did the least in developing its colonies when compared to the other colonial powers. This resulted in Guinea-Bissau being one of the most underdeveloped nations in the African continent. Two major statistics to demonstrate this underdevelopment is the illiteracy rate being at 99% and the infant mortality rate being 60%. PAIGC’s first actions were peaceful (demonstrations and strikes) in an attempt to negotiate with the Portuguese. The Pidgiguiti massacre of August 1959 was the turning point for PAIGC; they decided to respond with counter-violence.
Some of the theories that are discussed I agree with, and other bits I find questionable. The lines on mass participation being a prerequisite for mass support of armed struggle, the necessity to develop theory for one’s own material conditions, and the first task when preceding after study being social investigation and class analysis, I support. The lines on “labels” not being of importance and “irreversible change” occurring in guerillas after armed struggle I question. Paulo Freire’s pedagogy is described when Urgdang writes that the leaders of PAIGC learned from the peasants and the peasants became leaders through the party. Social mobility is identified as a key element in raising the consciousness of young unemployed Africans.
Chapter 5 “We are part of the same fight”
In this chapter practical steps and scientific analysis are demonstrated in the reporting of Urdang. Guerilla camps were training grounds for men and women of the villages to contribute to the revolution, whether as guerillas or other supporting tasks. Women’s potential as a formidable revolutionary force is explained, that because of their oppression that they could go further than solely liberating themselves and could dismantle the oppressor of the whole society. Political institutions are the organizations that protect and continue to develop the rights gained from struggle. The national liberation struggles of Algeria and Vietnam, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau were compared briefly; the main difference was the political ideology that in the latter meant “...liberation of women is emphasized in order for socialism to become a reality.”
I appreciate the comparison of different national liberation struggles because it distinguishes characters of revolutionary and reactionary nationalism. Authority and force is needed at times as in the case of the PAIGC directive that stated in relation to the defense of the rights of women that they would “...make others respect them…” as well as that they would respect and defend them. A concrete step towards women’s liberation that the party took and one that Urdang wrote as being “One of the most important steps…” was the requirement of two women in the five-member village councils that were organized once a zone was liberated. This gave way for a qualitative change, putting women in a decision-making body made them into leaders and equalized them with men. A scientific approach to development was expressed by PAIGC cadres that practical steps were needed to solve these problems and that ideological development is uneven among individuals and communities.
Chapter 8 “At the same time fighting for personal independence”
In this chapter the amount of women cadre being small is explained to be a reflection of the stage of development for women’s opportunities in Guinea-Bissau. There was a necessity and desire to train and develop women cadres. The placement of women in councils without them being prepared for those roles would amount to tokenism. Teodora Gomes expressed the idea that: “The domination of women is the result of economic domination.”. I think this economic domination can be combated through personal development and social change.
I feel happy when I read that the USSR trained and educated PAIGC cadres. Francisca Pereira shared the perspective that: “It is not enough to fight for political independence, if we are not at the same time fighting for personal independence.”. PAIGC started the war with three male nurses and by the end had five hundred nurses, more than half of them being women. The work of a health responsavel was political and educational. “Even though few women went into combat, all cadres, whether male or female, attended the political and military training…before taking up their first assignment…”. This is an example of a militarized party.
I enjoyed reading this book, a mixture of theory and documentation of successful practice. At the beginning Urdang discusses her funding, this aspect of the movement is so important. We have to be able to fund projects like these so we can learn from the work of our comrades. I would like for there to be an additional reading section in this book, for those interested in Guinea-Bissau in particular or women’s liberation in general. I recommend reading this book to understand the centrality of women’s liberation in our goal of national liberation, and ultimately world revolution.
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