If I were an alien visiting our planet this week I’d think, “Whoa, how’s that for a mess, one half of the species trying to annihilate the other half!” We on earth don’t see it that way ourselves; or we would be in revolution against misogynist warfare. Yet an eye that has not been conditioned to normalise the…
Archives for May 2014
Seven things that women want in Africa’s future
This week, more than 3000 delegates are at the annual meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Kigali discussing new strategies to tackle poverty, underdevelopment, and put their weight behind global schemes that ensure Africa’s progress. To mark the occasion, UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, published an OpEd today titled Women’s Role in the Next 50…
Reading Wole Soyinka’s ‘Of Africa’ in times of Boko Haram
As reckless forces of terror-driven religious fundamentalism ravage Nigeria we would be wise to remember the insights of the ancestors. Unfortunately, as Soyinka argues in his most recent book, Of Africa, Africa as we know it today, “remains the monumental fiction of European creativity” marked by a type of religiosity that is a “destabilising agent”;…
The truth about girls lives in Nigeria
In March this year, GirlHub Nigeria invited me to give a talk during Social Media Week Lagos, which I started with a prayer I’d written for little girls. I’d like to share it with you bearing in mind that it is not religion specific. Dear God, may the next generation of girls not grow up to worry…
Is feminism the right choice for you?
Before addressing the title topic, I just want to share that I have a piece about the abduction of girls in Nigeria at The Feminist Wire this week. Also this week The Guardian hosted a debate panel on African feminism based on Doreen’s guest blog here on MsAfropolitan. The panel (myself included) answered the question…