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

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On Abortion

August 23, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

Nobody talks about being pro-life when men are constricted to fight wars, for example.

But everybody has something to say about women’s autonomy over their reproductive choices because the female body is ultimately viewed as tied to nature while the male body is connected to culture, and thus to things like civilisation and technology. It follows that people believe that to terminate a pregnancy, is to disrupt nature.

Filed Under: feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: Abortion, African feminism, body, Life, women's issues

Nigerian feminism – past, present and future perspectives

October 1, 2018 By MsAfropolitan 9 Comments

What is Nigerian feminism? Who does it speak for? Does contemporary Nigerian feminism reflect the realities of all Nigerian women? Does it include the voices and struggles of the masses of women who do not have economic freedom? What are some of the issues Nigerian feminism should include moving forward? In my latest article below,…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism Tagged With: African feminism, Nigeria, women's issues, writing

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

When it comes to the bride price app there is only one word. No.

June 13, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 16 Comments

This post is inspired by a piece  CNN published on Wednesday about the Nigerian bride price app, an app/quiz which calculates the marital value of a woman by pricing attributes such as her height, weight, beauty, cooking skills, education and dialect. All in jest, yeah, the app, as the site’s disclaimer says is, “a joke, and…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism, Pop Culture Tagged With: #brideprice, Africa, African feminism, identity, Nigeria, Social Media, women's issues, Young Women

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

5 things my vagina does not make me. A guest blog by Doreen Akiyo Yomoah

April 19, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 18 Comments

“You’re a woman.” These three words are quite possibly my least favorite words strung together in the English language. When people repeat them to me it’s usually to judge how I can or cannot behave, or how I should or shouldn’t behave. But aside from the genitalia that I was born with, no other assumptions…

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Filed Under: feminism, Guest Posts Tagged With: African feminism, chimamanda ngozi adichie, gender, Ghana, identity, stereotypes, women's issues

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 difference between feminism and humanism

January 23, 2014 By MsAfropolitan 28 Comments

When it comes to labels, I like mine earnest but not intransigent. So there is something almost moving about someone (most often a man) asking a self-declared feminist like myself why I call myself a feminist and not a humanist. Almost. What prevents me from exultingly throwing my hands up in the air when a…

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

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

What does feminine power look like?

October 24, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 13 Comments

Women and power is a current hot topic. It was much discussed at the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society, for instance, where I too spoke about this very theme last week. It has also been recently debated at the Harvard Business School, FEMNET and  BBC’s 100 Women campaign. I welcome the increased emphasis on this topic because…

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Filed Under: feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: feminism, gender, identity, politics, power, women's issues

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…

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

Polygamy in Africa has little to do with sex

September 26, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 39 Comments

At its core polygamy is natural because men biologically need to spread their seed and it is hard for them to commit to one woman. Right? Wrong. But this argument is one commonly given to explain the tradition. For instance, Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, wrote in his autobiography that: “However unconventional and unsatisfactory this…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, African women, gender, sex, women's issues

What makes a clitoris dangerous?

August 17, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 71 Comments

  Estimates suggest that out of the 140 million people in the world whose clitorises have been removed via Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), 100 million are African. Three million African girls and women are at risk of undergoing the procedure annually. The countries with the highest rates are Sudan and Somalia, which unsurprisingly are two out of…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, African Women's Decade, female genital mutilation, FGM, gallery, sex, women's issues

Global war and its impact on African women

August 8, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 7 Comments

In a 2006 interview, George Bush referred to the war on terror as World War III. Perhaps he was right. We are witnessing a modern day world (or “global”) war, very simply put between those who claim to be fighting to uphold freedom from extremist religious fundamentalism, and the other side waging war against “unbelievers”….

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, African women, African Women's Decade, gallery, Religion, war, women's issues

Thoughts on “Women Rising: Political Leadership in Africa”

July 21, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 14 Comments

I just watched Women Rising: Political Leadership in Africa, a documentary by FEMNET and UNDP and thought I’d share it with you all here (embedded below). To me, the need for more women in political leadership is possibly the most urgent task for the African feminist agenda. If women are not determining the future of…

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Filed Under: Africa, feminism Tagged With: African feminism, African women, African Women's Decade, politics, power, women's issues

Esther Madudu for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize

July 11, 2013 By MsAfropolitan 6 Comments

I’m helping a leading African health development organisation, AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation), spread the word about their Stand Up For African Mothers campaign to nominate a Ugandan midwife, Esther Madudu, for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.  If you watch this video you will see why this remarkable woman deserves the prize and all the support in…

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Filed Under: feminism Tagged With: African women, African Women's Decade, Esther Madudu, motherhood, Uganda, women's issues

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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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Book announcement! I’m writing a book about African feminism

August 16, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

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