Bio

Photographer: Ewelina Stechnij

For upcoming speaking appearances click here.

Minna Salami is a Nigerian, Finnish and Swedish writer, feminist theorist and lecturer. She is the founder of the multiple award-winning blog, MsAfropolitan, which connects feminism with contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective and the author of Sensuous Knowledge (Zed and Harper Collins). Translations of Sensuous Knowledge will be published by Schildts & Söderströms in Finland, Planeta de Libros in Spain and Verlag Matthes & Seitz Berlin in Germany. The book is also optioned by a Hollywood based production company.

Minna is listed alongside Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama as one of 12 women changing the world by ELLE Magazine. She is a contributor to the Guardian, BBC, CNN, The Independent, Al Jazeera, the New Internationalist and many other publications. She is a columnist for the Guardian Nigeria and the host of a monthly philosophy book club at Waterstones.

As a lecturer and keynote speaker, Minna has spoken at over 200 universities, cultural events and conferences, on five continents. She has presented talks at some of the world’s most prominent institutions such as the UN, EU, The Oxford Union, The Cambridge Union and The Singularity University at NASA, and discussed #MeToo with Germaine Greer, Afropolitanism with Paul Gilroy and global feminism with Nawal El Saadawi. She has consulted governments on gender equality and she has curated events at The Victoria & Albert Museum in London. She is a guest commentator on the BBC, SKY, Al Jazeera and Channel 4. Minna has spoken at events in Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, China, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Morocco, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Gambia, The Netherlands, The UAE, The UK, and The USA.

Minna is a co-director of the feminist movement, Activate, she sits on the Advisory Board of The African Feminist Initiative at Pennsylvania State University, and the Editorial Board of The Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Sahel. She is a judge for the One World Media Awards and a nominator for The Prince Claus Fund and The Princess of Asturias Foundation. In 2016, Minna joined Friends of the Earth to work as a lead author on the BIG IDEAS project, which identified 30 Big Ideas to Change The World.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Gender Studies (Distinction) with a focus on black feminisms from SOAS, University of London, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from The University of Lund, Sweden, as well as an Honorary Fellowship in Writing from The Hong Kong Baptist University.

She has lived in Nigeria, Sweden, Spain and New York and now lives in London, from where she is passionately committed to promoting feminist empowerment.