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has failed to devise long-range policies to protect its genetic resources. This inaction continues to abet biopiracy and unregulated bioprospecting. Now Africa is not just shipping out raw materials, the continent is also shipping out its very blueprint for survival—its genetic resources. The ownership of the continent's genetic resources will remain at stake as long as African scientists do not think beyond their laboratories and scientific chapters. In the case of African traditional herbal medicines, the authors argue that the straitjacketed approach adhered to faithfully by many African scientists continues to relegate this centuries-old form of primary health care to the peripheries of their research agenda, much of which is controlled by uninterested Western donors. Thus Africa has failed to do what the Chinese have done with their herbs. According to the authors, the African continent is one large greenhouse for the growing of medicinal plants whose biochemicals are extracted to make drugs that are later sold to Africans at higher prices. It is therefore imperative that African scientists start “thinking outside the box” in order to ensure Africa's rich resources are used for the socioeconomic advancement of its people.
Chapter 11 examines some contemporary issues in the field of African literature in English. The author observes that many African writers use the image of a strong-willed and defiant female character struggling against an oppressive, patriarchal society as a way of exemplifying oppressed societies and the revolutionaries who are born from them. These female characters, according to the author, eradicate the stereotypical view of African women in that they abandon tradition in order to stand for a cause. These women are unyielding in their actions to be free and independent and often resort to violence.
Living in a patriarchal society, women, as the author argues, must succumb to the sexual will of men, whether through “obligation” to a spouse or monetary need. Prostitution, female circumcisions, and unwanted sexual advances are attempts to devalue and remove the female identity. Even when women are fortunate enough to be educated and find respectable jobs, they still meet vast hardships along the way. Instead of allowing this fate to befall them, these strong female characters use