I wanted to dispel preconceived notions about women in Africa. Three goddesses capture the strength of African women and celebrate blackness. “Uungu” My short film is a joint collaboration with makeup artist Fatima Yunusa that presents three African...
What do we say about women who have their lives cut short because of violence? Why should we live in fear of what could happen to us as women? A woman demonstrates against gender violence, Johannesburg, South Africa, 13 September 2019 (EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK) This poem...
I use the human race to play my evil game. I’m to blame for wife-beating, guns, bomb flames. I’m the infamous, rash, spirit of violence. By Chiro Awoke Ogbo Violence I am the model of a modern millennial demon A venomous venerated veteran of a special evil I’m held...
Mother Africa, tell me, why so much suffering? Dry your tears, for your children will assert themselves and affirm your diversity. South Africans listen to President Cyril Ramaphosa during an election rally in Johannesburg, South Africa, 11 April 2019 (EPA-EFE/Kim...
The African man is in an impossible situation. He is neither the man before colonialism nor a true Westerner. He is lost in a chasm between two worlds. Hawkers sell patriotic merchandise ahead of Ghana’s 50th anniversary of independence, 2 March 2007. Ghana was the...
By Adnan Shafi Last October, I had the privilege of interviewing Nigerian entrepreneur Sim Shagaya, who according to Forbes magazine is one of the most influential men in Africa. Shagaya is the founder and former chief executive officer of one of West Africa’s...
My family’s helper told me “being single” is her greatest challenge. She showed me an incredible Kenyan welfare group that supports single women. When I asked Dorine, the helper who lives with my family, about her greatest challenges, she quickly...
When former colonizers claim their due, they get repaid. But when Africans do the same, they’re told to forget about the past and look to the future. Supporters of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate his election win, 27 February 2019 (AP Photo/Sunday...