If you are interested in pan-Africanism then chance are that you have visited the pages of the African Holocaust, “a non-profit civil society dedicated to the progressive study of African history and culture.” At least I have found useful information on the website while researching topics that have to do with African history. The platform is…
Men suppress great female energy power. The #MenAreTrash hashtag is a virtual shrine for loss.
On April 29th, the dead body of a young woman named Karabo Mokoena was found in a deserted veld in Johannesburg. She had been necklaced (meaning a tyre filled with petrol was placed around her neck and set alight) and acid was poured over her too. Mokoena’s boyfriend, whose name I shall not host on my website, has…
Why the age gap between Macron and Trogneux is symbolically significant for feminism
That the newly elected French president, Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte Trogneux, is twenty-five years older than him is symbolically significant for feminism and women’s empowerment. After all, one of the most sexist and ageist social norms is that, when it comes to heterosexual relationships, men must be older and women younger. If you consider some of…
“Commitmentphilia” versus “Commitmentphobia”
Women spend a lot of energy trying to understand the “commitmentphobia” of men when they should spend it on understanding their own “commitmentphilia”. This is the argument in my latest column at the Nigeria Guardian, also enclosed below. One week ago today, the world celebrated International Women’s Day for the 108th time. Around the globe,…
Seven characteristics an empowered woman has. Psychology matters.
“Who is the empowered woman, and what’s your opinion on the use of the word ’empowered’ as a marketing tool?” In a recent interview with She Leads Africa, I was asked the above question and it made me reflect further on a theme that has always been important in my writing. Empowerment was also the…
Meritocracy, the enlightened west and other myths about women in politics
It is interesting, that, in discussions about gender equality, “merit” only comes up when we are speaking about women taking up positions that are traditionally male. Nobody questions whether it is meritocratic that, say, prostitution is a predominantly female profession, or that a disproportionate amount of women work in underpaid caring jobs. Similarly, to imagine…
A feminist analysis of masculinity in J Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only
In 1985, the same year that the artist J Cole was born, feminism was on the other hand, dying. The radical change in sexual roles that had marked feminism in the 1970s was replaced by a rapprochement of traditional relations through the early 1980s. Rather than challenging gender norms, women were returning to girlishness and men to machoism….
These are the actual divides among feminists
Last night, as part of the 100 Women season, the BBC hosted a panel discussion about whether the feminist movement has succeeded in inclusively engaging women. The speakers were Heather Rabbatts, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw and Gail Lewis. It was great to hear Williams Crenshaw speak authoritatively about intersectionality, a term which she coined. Rabbatts too was…
Don’t be fooled by emotional marketing. Using a feminist icon does not make No7 feminist.
I once asked in a blogpost, “why is that feminism, one of the largest (in outreach, numbers and impact) socially transformative movements that we know of barely exists in mainstream narrative? […] Whatever one makes of feminism, to not acknowledge its existence in cultural production seems curious.” That was then. Nowadays, feminism can be found EVERYWHERE…
Music magic! Enjoy an African feminist mixtape
Below is a blog titled “Here you are heard” that I wrote for Okayafrica. It accompanies a Feminist Africa In Your Earbuds mixtape, which I curated to be included in their Africa In Your Earbuds series and which is also included below. Here you are heard There is an ancient Yoruba legend about Aje, a mysterious…
Tradition matters for female farmers, and female farmers matter for everything.
Reposting my latest column for The Guardian Nigeria, which was there titled “When it comes to agriculture, we need to talk about tradition”. If you have any thoughts about this, leave a comment. Here’s what I had for breakfast some days ago: Akara and Fura yoghurt. For dinner that same day, I ate pounded yam with Efo…
The clitoris is finally getting attention
Reposting my latest comment for The UK Guardian, which was there titled “This is a 3D model of a clitoris – and the start of a sexual revolution”. The article has generated a lot of discussion and many questions, including enquiries where to gain further understanding of the clitoris’s relation to the vulva. This discussion is…
Poverty, power, feminism
Reposting my latest column for The Guardian Nigeria, which was there titled “I agree, poverty is a more pressing issue than feminism”. If you have any thoughts about this, leave a comment. 1. Physiological needs. 2. Safety needs. 3. Love needs. 4. Esteem needs. 5. Self-actualisation. The above, according to Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of needs”, lists…
Pastor Adeboye’s misguided marriage advice
Reposting my latest column for The Guardian Nigeria, which was there titled “Cook, earn, pray. But don’t expect a happy marriage”. If you have any thoughts about this, leave a comment. I recently read a story titled The Habit Of Loving written by the irreplaceable Doris Lessing. The story was about an ageing man who, having been…
Do we really live in a patriarchy?
Reposting my latest column for The Guardian Nigeria, which was there titled “Why I am going to stop using the term patriarchy”. If you have any thoughts about this, leave a comment. When feminists use the word patriarchy, it is usually followed with a shrug, a rolling of the eyes, or a sigh. This is because…
An African utopia in Ethiopia – On the need for imaginative ideas
In April this year, I was honoured to give a keynote talk at the jesuit university, Xavier University. I’m sharing a video and transcript from the talk below. On one end, the talk’s intention is to inform about Awra Amba, a utopian village in Ethiopia, but at its core it is about the need for imaginative…
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