Cover image: Image by Freepik
When we think about history, we often think about big names and official titles.
Kings. Presidents. Generals.
But in many African families, the women who shaped us most never entered any textbook.
They were traders, farmers, midwives, teachers, caregivers, quiet organisers.
They held households together, passed down language, protected land, and raised children who would go on to “do great things.”
Yet their own stories rarely left the walls of their homes.
Image source: Freepik
There are also women whose names did echo beyond their communities, but not loudly enough.
Leaders, warriors, thinkers, artists, freedom fighters.
Women who negotiated, resisted, wrote, built, and led.
Women who stood at the front, even when the official records later pushed them to the side.
Many of us grew up hearing fragments.
A line about a queen who went to war.
A story about a market woman who led a protest.
A grandmother who “did not fear anybody.”
But without care, these fragments start to fade.
Image source: Freepik
Reclaiming these women is not just about facts.
It is about memory.
It means asking more questions while the elders are still here.
It means writing down the stories we hear at family gatherings.
It means saying their names to the next generation, not just as side notes, but as central characters. It also means looking at our own lives differently.
Noticing the women who are holding things together right now.
The aunt who pays school fees quietly.
The neighbour who looks after everyone’s children.
The woman at work who makes sure others are seen and supported.
When we remember, record and share these stories, we are doing more than honouring the past.
We are launching an initiative for individuals, families, and organisations seeking to preserve meaningful records of history’s most powerful storyteller – photographs. Tap here to view the proposal.
We are widening what is possible for the future.
We are saying to the girls coming after us,
“You come from women who have always carried strength, wisdom and courage.
Do not forget them. And do not forget yourself.”
