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MsAfropolitan

FEMINISM. PAN-AFRICA. SOCIAL CRITICISM. DIASPORA. CULTURE.

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Solidarity Statement – Sex for Grades in African Universities

November 11, 2019 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

The African Feminist Initiative has released a solidarity statement following the awareness raised by Nigerian journalist, Kiki Mordi’s (pictured), brave and important documentary, Sex for Grades. I post the statement below. Sex for Grades: Solidarity Statement By African Feminist Initiative We are African feminist scholars and feminist scholars of Africa, working in institutions both on…

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Filed Under: uncategorized Tagged With: African feminism, African women, sex for grades, womens rights

A brief history of portrayals of African women in the west

July 24, 2015 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

The western world has for a long time tried to distort and demonise African womanhood. From historical art to modern day icons such as Serena Williams, there’s no doubt that a campaign to demean black beauty is ongoing and far-reaching. However, western history is also sprinkled with appreciation of the beauty of African women, particularly dark-skinned African…

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Filed Under: Africa, Decolonisation, feminism, Pop Culture, Social Criticism Tagged With: African beauty, African women, Beauty, dark skin, race, Western Art

Q & A with Angélique Kidjo

March 11, 2015 By MsAfropolitan 2 Comments

A celebrity is commonly seen as “a person who is known for his well-knownness”. However, Angélique Kidjo is a celebrity in the original meaning of the term, celer: which has roots in change and of course, celebration. In other words, she is someone we celebrate because she transforms us, her work touches us both poetically and politically. Watching Kidjo perform…

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Filed Under: Pop Culture Tagged With: Africa, African women, Angélique Kidjo, Benin, feminism, Music, pop culture

On the African Union’s message to women

March 9, 2015 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

Yesterday, to commemorate International Women’s Day, the former chairperson of the African Union, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, posted a message for African women on the union’s website. The focus of the update, one which I have pasted below, was to hone in on a political vision and action plan – ‘Agenda 2063‘ – which, among other things, “envisages a…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism Tagged With: Africa, african diaspora, African feminism, African Union, African women, Agenda 2063, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, women's issues

7 South African rebel women artists – in memory of Miriam Makeba

March 4, 2015 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

Today, 4 March, is the birthday of the unforgettable Miriam Makeba. To honour her memory I am posting a selection of my favourite songs by seven sensational South African singers who, like Makeba, embody/embodied the spirit of feminist pan-Africa and the African femme fatale.  Pata Pata!  Busi Mhlongo “Umoya ma-Afrika”  Brenda Fassie – “Vuli Ndlela” Lebo Mathosa –…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism, Pop Culture, seven Tagged With: African feminism, African women, African women artists, Brenda Fassie, Busi Mhlongo, Dolly Rathebe, Lebo Mathosa, Miriam Makeba, Simphiwe Dana, South Africa, Thandiswa Mazwai

‘Who will be the first African woman to sail the length of the River Niger?’

March 2, 2015 By MsAfropolitan 2 Comments

  Here is a link to an interview that I did for The Corporate Canvas, a South African Careers, Finance, Culture & Lifestyle platform for African Millennial women.  The questions were great, I appreciate the opportunity they gave me to reflect on things that truly matter to me. Below is my favourite question, you can read the rest of the interview…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism, Interviews Tagged With: African feminism, African women, Corporate Canvas, Interview, pan-Africanism, River Niger

TEDxBrixton Talk – To change the world, change your illusions

November 26, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 13 Comments

Last month, I gave a TEDx Talk titled “To change the world, change your illusions” at TEDxBrixton, which has now been uploaded on YouTube. Watching the clip takes me right back to the day: all the great talks, the wonderful TEDxBrixton team, the excitement and nerves but most of all the energy in a room…

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Filed Under: Africa, events, feminism Tagged With: African feminism, African women, TEDx Talk, TEDxBrixton

September events, workshops and talks – Afropea Now!, Digital Women UK, Complicit No More

August 25, 2014 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

Complicit No More In creating a forum to discuss gendered racisms, ‘Complicit No More’ aims to encourage more generous and ‘conscientious’ feminist inspired dialogue. The panel event will highlight themes and challenges for black feminism and intersectionality, tackling topics that have been framed by Eurocentrism but which are also a part of intra-oppressions: how we relate…

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Filed Under: events Tagged With: African feminism, African women, Afropea Now, Afropolitanism, Blogging for impact, Complicit No More, Digital Women UK, Media Diversified

Awra Amba, an Ethiopian village where gender equality is real

May 30, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 10 Comments

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…

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Filed Under: feminism Tagged With: Africa, African women, African Women's Decade, Awra Amba, Ethiopia, gender, Life, Spirituality, Young Women, Zumra Nuru

Seven things that women want in Africa’s future

May 21, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 11 Comments

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…

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Filed Under: feminism, seven Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, African women, African Women's Decade, feminism, gender, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women, women's issues

Is women’s political participation in Africa really rising?

April 16, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 6 Comments

Last month, a group of circa 40 women gathered in Banjul, Gambia for a transformational feminist leadership workshop organised by Women Living Under Muslim Law (WLUML). I was one of the trainers at the weeklong workshop; my sessions were about using communication for feminist advocacy. During the week we discussed, among other things, culturally justified…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, African women, afrobarometer, joyce banda, leadership

What is conscientious feminism?

February 6, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 11 Comments

In July 1992, an international conference on Women in Africa and in the African Diaspora (WAAD) was held in Nigeria. WAAD was a rare incident: an interdisciplinary and international conference about African women in Africa. The conference, which took place in the Eastern town of Nsukka during an unusually dry week in July (precipitation for this month…

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Filed Under: feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: African women, conscientious feminism, feminism, gallery, gender, identity, Life, women's issues

The African Femme Fatale

December 21, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 18 Comments

As the year comes to an end, I thought that I would like my last post of the year to be about something exciting, a feminine energy we could do well channeling more of in 2014. Scrolling through old posts and comments, I recognised an energy brewing, one not yet defined but one which can…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism, Pop Culture Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, African women, femme fatale, gender, identity, Life, sex, Spirituality

Interview with Iheoma Obibi, founder of Nigeria’s first online sex shop

December 15, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 11 Comments

Welcome back to my interview series! Over the past years I’ve interviewed inspiring women of African heritage highlighting their work and observations on life. This time around, I’m especially excited to introduce readers to Iheoma Obibi, an African feminist writer, human rights activist and more recently the creative director and business owner of Intimate Pleasures Desires…

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Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: African feminism, African women, sex, sexuality, women's issues

Africa Lecture Series at OSI Club, University of Berlin

November 21, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 7 Comments

The Otto-Suhr-Institute for Political Science at the University of Berlin hosts a public lecture series every year to ensure that students of the university as well as citizens of Berlin have a broad and diverse access to discourses on African politics. I will be a guest lecturer at the Africa Lecture Series of the OSI club at…

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Filed Under: Africa, events, feminism Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, African women, African Women's Decade, Afropolitan, Young Women

What makes African women’s art feminist?

November 10, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 6 Comments

It has been said that artistry in Africa is an intrinsic part of life rather than a commercial or careerist enterprise. I’d say that this notion is not only applicable to African art, all across the world art has explored the sensitivities of life and the social environment. However, it is in this process of examining life…

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Filed Under: feminism, Pop Culture Tagged With: African feminism, African women, art, gender, Nigeria, sex, Spirituality

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Feminism. Africa. Popular Culture. Social Criticism.

Hi! I'm Minna Salami, I'm a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish writer and social critic, and the founder of the multiple award-winning blog, MsAfropolitan, which connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective. As a lecturer and keynote speaker, I have spoken at over 300 universities, cultural events and conferences, on five continents. I am the author of "Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone - a collection of thought provoking essays that explore questions central to how we see ourselves, our history, and our world." (Harper Collins US) Read full bio

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An African Feminist mixtape

Essay: Oyalogy – A poetic approach to African feminism through Yoruba mythology

ESSAY: A brief history of African feminism

ESSAY: A brief history of African feminism

VIDEO: TEDxTalk – To change the world, change your illusions

VIDEO: TEDxTalk – To change the world, change your illusions

VIDEO: ARISE TV TALKING AFRICA INTERVIEW

VIDEO: ARISE TV TALKING AFRICA INTERVIEW

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more articles

A Historical Overview of African Feminist Strands

August 24, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

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On Abortion

August 23, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

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