Although Africa hosts 40% of the world’s biodiversity, 20% of forest reserves and over 50% of the energy potential in the world, what I’ll be referring to as “geocolonialism” is impeding the progress of a flourishing and sustainable environment in Africa and worldwide. This week has seen the much awaited Rio+20 take place, the largest…
Archives for June 2012
A postcard from Libreville
I’m in the beautiful city of Libreville in Gabon. From the little that I’ve seen I immediately feel at home here. I especially love how Libreville’s population seem very level-headed, and how despite what feels like a heavy military presence the city’s parks and streets are characterized by people relaxing and enjoying their charming environment….
Honoured as one of BlogHer’s OpEd “Voices Of The Year” 2012
Yippie!! MsAfropolitan has been chosen as one of twenty OpEd Voices of the Year by the BlogHer Publishing Network. I will receive an honour in the “OpEd” category for my post “Is feminism really un-African?” You can read the article here and the contributions of all honorees here. The 5th annual Voices of the Year Community Keynote will be on…
There were no matriarchies in precolonial Africa
Following a passioned debate on my last post Feminism has always existed in Africa, I started to question why the myth of matriarchy in precolonial Africa is popular and here’s why. Because it poses less of a challenge to the status quo. It numbs the anger of the persisting patriarchy we have found ourselves in…
Feminism has always existed in Africa
Feminist activism has always been a part of African society and in a radical way. By radical, I don’t mean the strand of the western feminist movement that very necessarily revolutionized western societies in the 1960s and 1970s, but rather, I mean the mobilized commitment to uprooting patriarchy, imperialism and human injustice to women. In much of premodern…