What is it about feminism that invites so many different opinions on what ‘counts’ and what doesn’t? People from vastly different cultural situations variously categorise feminist practices as extreme, radical, reactionary, unbalanced, co-opted, revolutionary, elite, exclusive, progressive, passé, and hysterical. The desire of both feminists and anti-feminists to control feminism emerges as the limiting of what feminism is, whom it is for, and where it is going. The urge to limit feminism seems, in some cases, to overtake the urge to spread the word and celebrate feminism’s successes. And it is not just anti-feminists who attempt to limit feminism – even feminists spend an inordinate amount of time defining certain practices out of the feminist spectrum. In this thesis, I document and analyse the way we limit feminism – its participants, meaning, practices, language, history, and future. I explore the reasons why we need to contain feminism in this way, looking in particular at those who have an investment in keeping feminism comfortably small. I invite back into the realm of feminism a wide range of activities and theories we generally invalidate as feminism, including the words of several ‘unofficial’ feminists I interviewed for this project. In essence, this project goes towards the rethinking of the term ‘feminism’ by examining the widely differing and often contradictory definitions of ‘what counts.’

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux manières dont se déploie le militantisme féministe au Togo, en interrogeant plus précisément la structure de l’espace de la cause des femmes, les stratégies employées par les militantes de différentes générations, leurs expériences du militantisme et leurs perceptions du féminisme dans un contexte ouest-africain où le féminisme est souvent connoté péjorativement. À partir d’une collecte de données ayant combiné des entretiens semi-dirigés, des observations participantes et une veille des réseaux sociaux, elle dresse un portrait des « féminismes », des « féministes », de leur militantisme et de l’espace dans lequel ces « féministes » militent au Togo. Cette recherche doctorale a permis de montrer un espace togolais de la cause des femmes foisonnant, marqué par la passion et l’intensité de l’engagement des militantes principalement issues d’une élite privilégiée. Même si l’émergence d’un discours féministe plus affirmé et plus globalisé a été discernée, le militantisme féministe, chez toutes les générations, est généralement exprimé en termes de promotion des droits des femmes et de l’égalité des genres, et est axé autour du principe de la négociation et de modalités d’action collective peu contestataires. La jeune génération de féministes se distingue surtout par la place importante qu’elle accorde aux plateformes digitales comme canal de communication. Les analyses ont montré que les militantes de l’espace togolais et ouest-africain de la cause des femmes adoptent une pluralité d’identités féministes qui sont néanmoins traversées par des expériences communes et une volonté partagée de défendre les droits des femmes, en tant que femmes. En adoptant une interprétation plus souple du militantisme et du féminisme en contexte ouest-africain, cette thèse permet de rendre compte des expériences particulières des militantes togolaises, mais aussi des tendances historiques et transnationales plus larges dans lesquelles elles s’inscrivent. / This thesis examines the ways in which feminist activism unfolds in Togo, focusing specifically on the structure of the women's rights movement, the strategies employed by activists from different generations, their experiences with activism, and their perceptions of feminism in a West African context where feminism is often negatively connoted. Through a combination of semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and social media monitoring, it paints a picture of "feminisms", "feminists", their activism, and the environment in which they operate in Togo. The research shows a thriving Togolese women's rights movement marked by the passion and intensity of the engagement of activists, mostly from a privileged elite. While the emergence of a more assertive and globalized feminist discourse has been discerned, feminist activism, across all generations, is generally expressed in terms of promoting women's rights and gender equality, and is centered around the principle of negotiation and non-subversive collective action. The younger generation of feminists is distinguished by the significant importance they assign to digital platforms as a communication channel. The analysis showed that women's rights activists in Togo and West Africa adopt a plurality of feminist identities that are informed by common experiences and a shared commitment to defending women's rights as women. By adopting a more flexible interpretation of feminism and activism in the West African context, this thesis sheds light on the specific experiences of Togolese activists as well as broader historical and transnational trends in which they are embedded.