• Home
  • Bio
  • Media
    • Read
    • Watch/Listen
  • Speaking
  • Work with me
  • Contact

MsAfropolitan

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

  • feminism
  • Africa
  • Pop Culture
  • Social Criticism
  • decolonisation
  • Afropolitanism
  • seven
  • Sensuous Knowledge
    • Sensuous Knowledge references and recommended reading
    • International
    • Sensuous Knowledge news
  • Other Books
  • The MsAfropolitan Philosophy Book Club @ Waterstones

Spirituality, feminism and expanding our understanding of knowledge

August 7, 2017 By MsAfropolitan 4 Comments

Thanks to a recent article in the Guardian, which reported that “Mind, Body and Spirit” UK book sales are growing while other book genres are dropping in sales, I’ve been thinking about how perceptions of spirituality relate to feminism and to the expansion of knowledge. Three things in particular came to mind. First of all, that our…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Social Criticism, uncategorized Tagged With: books, femininity, knowledge, philosophy, Spirituality

Why I am speaking about mysticism

December 9, 2015 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

For hundreds of years westerners have sought for answers to the big questions of life in the mystical world. From Plato to St. Teresa of Avila to Kierkegaard, mysticism, defined as “a constellation of distinctive practices, discourses, texts, institutions, traditions, and experiences aimed at human transformation” has marked philosophical life in the west. Today, however, western culture is…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Social Criticism Tagged With: Automatic Writing, Fela Kuti, Frida Kahlo, Mysticism, Sobonfu Some, Spirituality

So you want to know what men really gain from patriarchy?

July 2, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 19 Comments

Patriarchy is an unfashionable term. But it is also the only term that describes the oldest, most widespread and most enduring form of governance. It is much older than democracy, for example. It seems to me that patriarchy, which is the ‘system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: feminism, gender, immortality, Life, patriarchy, politics, Religion, Spirituality, symbols

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…

Continue Reading

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

Is feminism the right choice for you?

May 2, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 11 Comments

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…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: feminism Tagged With: African feminism, feminism, happiness, identity, Spirituality

The sacred is political

April 3, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 38 Comments

“You can’t not be religious!” is a reaction I often receive when someone asks me first whether I am Muslim, as my name implies, and then (when I say no) whether I am a Christian, which I am not either. Having found out that I’m neither Christian nor Muslim, the inquirer then often proceeds to…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Africa, Social Criticism Tagged With: Africa, african diaspora, Christianity, gallery, Islam, Religion, secularism, Spirituality

Let 2014 be a year of emotional awareness

January 2, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 16 Comments

  Welcome to 2014. It’s going to be a special one coming up to the 4th anniversary of this blog, and especially as we are going to have the fearless African femme fatale energy present. But before settling in to the new year: if you could sum up 2013 in one word only, what would it…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Social Criticism Tagged With: happiness, identity, Life, Spirituality

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…

Continue Reading

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

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…

Continue Reading

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

What I like about African men

October 11, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 11 Comments

Let me start by saying that there are desirable traits in men from all corners of the world. From the Ken-ish charm of a George Clooney type to the Jesus-like gentle features of many Arab and Asian men, our diverse world contains a smorgasbord of likeable men. Yet there is something about African men that evokes…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Africa, feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: Africa, gender, identity, Life, Masculinities, Spirituality, women's issues

Meditations with Lorna Simpson

June 27, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 2 Comments

Why do I like pictures that seem ghostly? I’m not religious and I am no more spiritual than any one else. I’m not an atheist either but I cherish rational argument. I spend quite a lot of my time upside down, in Adho Mukha Svanasana and occasionally Urdhva Dhanurasana and so on, and yet despite my fondness for…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Decolonisation, feminism, Pop Culture, Social Criticism Tagged With: art, feminism, Spirituality, women

The unusual relationship between religion and modernity in Africa

March 14, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 8 Comments

Two things are growing faster in Africa than anywhere else – religion and the economy. Africa is the most devout continent in the world with 89 percent of participants in a 2012 WIN Gallup survey saying that they were religious, compared to 59 percent in the world at large. In Ghana, the country with the…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Africa Tagged With: Africa, feminism, gender, Religion, Spirituality

Valentine’s Day Give-Away – My free poetry e-book

February 14, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 11 Comments

  I don’t consider myself a poet but that’s an odd thing to announce given that I am next going to offer you to download cache, my poetry book. And for free too in the spirit of Valentine’s day and love! Poetry is a form of writing that I’m compelled to engage in when I’m…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Social Criticism Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, identity, Life, Nigeria, Religion, sex, Spirituality

International Women’s Month event for your diary: FRIDA – Female Revolution In Dance & Art

February 8, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 8 Comments

“I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you.”  ― Frida Kahlo To celebrate the forthcoming International Women’s Month 2013, join us (Pia Cabble, Bumi Thomas, CRE8 LIFESTLE CENTRE & MsAfropolitan) for a spectacular multidisciplinary art project inspired by the legacy of Frida…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: events, feminism Tagged With: Feminist Icons, identity, International Women's Month, Life, Spirituality, style icons

On Vagina by Naomi Wolf and the reviews that followed

October 5, 2012 By MsAfropolitan 5 Comments

The release of Naomi Wolf’s “Vagina: A New Biography” was met with scathing criticisms from feminists like Laurie Penny, Ariel Levy and Zoe Heller. These influential writers all bring up some valid arguments about problematic ideas presented in the book. Vagina is indeed a book that in many ways feels unfinished and often naïve. It…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: feminism, Pop Culture, Social Criticism Tagged With: African feminism, gender, sex, Spirituality

Huffington Post: Meditate Your Way Through Negative Articles About Black Women

August 28, 2012 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

I submitted the below post to the Huffington Post editors before the racist and sexist cover image of Michelle Obama as a nude slave appeared in one of Spain’s biggest newspapers, El Mundo’s, supplement. This morning an interview with Gabby Douglas went live revealing that her teammates called her a slave. Unfortunately, the constant tending…

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Decolonisation, feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: African women, Decolonisation, happiness, identity, Life, Spirituality, women's issues

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

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

View My Blog Posts

Follow My social media

Visit Us On InstagramVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookCheck Our Feed

Subscribe to my newsletter

* indicates required

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

Recent Comments

  • Evgen on There were no matriarchies in precolonial Africa
  • ทางเข้าเล่น joker on The challenge for western feminism in the 21st century
  • Schües on On Abortion
  • AneM on Polygamy in Africa has little to do with sex
  • Khalifa on Polygamy in Africa has little to do with sex

Sensuous Knowledge – Get the book (US version)

Sensuous Knowledge – Get the book (UK version)

Archives

  • August 2022 (4)
  • May 2022 (1)
  • January 2022 (2)
  • December 2021 (1)
  • August 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (5)
  • April 2021 (3)
  • March 2021 (4)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • October 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (3)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (2)
  • March 2020 (4)
  • February 2020 (2)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • November 2019 (1)
  • July 2019 (1)
  • May 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (4)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (2)
  • November 2018 (1)
  • October 2018 (2)
  • August 2018 (1)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (2)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • March 2018 (2)
  • February 2018 (2)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (2)
  • September 2017 (3)
  • August 2017 (6)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (3)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (2)
  • February 2017 (3)
  • January 2017 (2)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (3)
  • October 2016 (3)
  • September 2016 (2)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • July 2016 (2)
  • June 2016 (1)
  • May 2016 (3)
  • April 2016 (1)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (3)
  • October 2015 (4)
  • September 2015 (4)
  • August 2015 (3)
  • July 2015 (2)
  • June 2015 (3)
  • May 2015 (4)
  • April 2015 (4)
  • March 2015 (10)
  • February 2015 (4)
  • December 2014 (3)
  • November 2014 (5)
  • October 2014 (1)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (4)
  • July 2014 (3)
  • June 2014 (3)
  • May 2014 (5)
  • April 2014 (4)
  • March 2014 (2)
  • February 2014 (4)
  • January 2014 (3)
  • December 2013 (3)
  • November 2013 (4)
  • October 2013 (3)
  • September 2013 (4)
  • August 2013 (5)
  • July 2013 (4)
  • June 2013 (4)
  • May 2013 (6)
  • April 2013 (3)
  • March 2013 (7)
  • February 2013 (3)
  • January 2013 (5)
  • December 2012 (4)
  • November 2012 (9)
  • October 2012 (8)
  • September 2012 (4)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (5)
  • May 2012 (8)
  • April 2012 (7)
  • March 2012 (5)
  • February 2012 (4)
  • January 2012 (6)
  • December 2011 (5)
  • November 2011 (6)
  • October 2011 (6)
  • September 2011 (8)
  • August 2011 (6)
  • July 2011 (5)
  • June 2011 (5)
  • May 2011 (5)
  • April 2011 (4)
  • March 2011 (7)
  • February 2011 (6)
  • January 2011 (7)
  • December 2010 (5)
  • November 2010 (9)
  • October 2010 (7)
  • September 2010 (5)
  • August 2010 (4)
  • July 2010 (6)
  • June 2010 (5)
  • May 2010 (3)
  • April 2010 (3)
  • March 2010 (1)

more articles

A Historical Overview of African Feminist Strands

August 24, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

… [Continue Reading...]

On Abortion

August 23, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

… [Continue Reading...]

Privacy Policy

https://msafropolitan.com/gdpr

Copyright MsAfropolitan © 2023