Umoja is a village in the Samburu County of Kenya. Umoja means “unity” in Swahili, and is a women-only community founded in 1990 by Rebecca Lolosoli and a group of 15 women. These women were survivors of domestic violence, rape, and forced marriages, and as such created the village as a haven from patriarchal traditions.
Umoja has challenged centuries-old norms and proven that women can build an independent and self-sustaining society.
History, culture, and resistance are all interwoven into the richness of African women’s fashion. Before colonialism, African women dressed in ways that were representative of their culture, environment, and social standing. Clothing was more than just fabric, it served as a language, a means of self-expression, and an identification marker. African women’s fashion has evolved, shaped by trade, colonization, and modern influences, yet it still retains elements of the past.
Activism has changed in the digital age, and social media, particularly Twitter, has turned into a battlefield for African women’s feminist causes. Online platforms provide a new kind of resistance in a continent where patriarchal systems are still firmly established, allowing women to express themselves without worrying about censorship or physical harm. By calling attention to abuses, demanding responsibility, and changing cultural dialogues, hashtags have turned into tools.
On April 1, 1940, Wangari Muta Maathai was born, in Nyeri, Kenya. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and founded the Green Belt Movement. She was among the few African women to receive higher education at the time. She received a scholarship from the Kennedy Airlift Program in 1960 and went to the United States to complete her biological sciences degree. She went on to get a master’s degree and a doctorate, making her the fi rst woman in East and Central Africa to accomplish so.
African culture has traditionally revolved around storytelling. History, wisdom, and customs were passed down orally through myths, proverbs, and folktales long before books and written documents were created. It was the responsibility of women in many African communities to preserve and pass on these stories.
When we think about the countless women writers today, it is hard not to wonder who the first woman to boldly pick up a pen, share her stories, and become known as a writer was. Who was that woman who refused to be silenced, even when society may have tried to stifle her voice?
When we think about the countless women writers today, it is hard not to wonder who the first woman to boldly pick up a pen, share her stories, and become known as a writer was? Who was that woman who refused to be silenced, even when society may have tried to stifle her voice?
She was thrown off the balcony of Kalakuta. Her frail seventy-seven years old body hit the ground with a force that would ripple through history. The year was 1977, and the Nigerian military had invaded Kalakuta, the communal compound owned by her son, Fela Kuti. They were looking to silence dissent. But in that act of violence, they only amplified the story of a woman who had spent her entire life resisting oppression. Her name was Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
Biases are intrinsically part of human nature. Our brains are lazy; we act on previously gathered information to make decisions rather than processing new information and making peculiar and unique choices. What we see growing up, what we hear, what is obtainable in our immediate environment;
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