African feminists, that is African women who are feminists, should not only read books by other African women. From my Afropolitan point of view, our reading should be cosmopolitan, we should enjoy books about all kinds of topics from anywhere in the cosmos. That is how you expand your mind, and not by repeatedly reading one genre. However,…
Archives for September 2015
Future Forward – Lights, Camera, Africa Film Festival
I’m excited to share that I am a media partner with the Lights, Camera, Africa Film Festival with the theme: Future Forward. The 5th edition of the festival is taking place from 30 September, 2015 to 4 October, 2015 at Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria. The aim of the partnership is to expose African and global audiences to quality independent African cinema…
Repowerment rather than empowerment
I’m getting impatient with the idea that the reason we should empower African women is to lift African economies, as UN under-secretary-general and executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, argued in The Sowetan on Sunday. I’m not fed up with this proposition because economic growth isn’t important for African countries (although I do think…
A discussion with Nawal El Saadawi and other upcoming talks
Next month, I will be in discussion with one of my biggest role models, the renowned Egyptian writer Nawal El Saadawi. The impact El Saadawi has had on my work (and my life!) is profound, I intensely admire her achievements as a writer, intellectual, feminist, philosopher and activist. In fact, I live by one of her wisdoms. She says: “Words should…