Ama Ata Aidoo passed away at the age of 81.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
A commanding presence on the global literary stage, Ama Ata Aidoo was a powerful feminist voice with a prolific output.
Detail of an illustration of Theodosia Okoh, who designed Ghana’s flag.
Illustrations by Denyse Gawu-Mensah/Black and Bold Queens
Women who shaped modern Ghana have been erased from history. A children’s book aims to restore them to their rightful place.
Detail from the cover of the children’s book Kayo’s House by Ugandan author Barbara Kimenye.
Macmillan/Mactracks Series
At independence, adults were reading decolonial classics - but children were reading Enid Blyton. A generation of unsung women writers changed that.
Detail from the cover of an edition of Amma Darko’s novel Faceless.
Sub-Saharan Publishers
A psychologist and a literary scholar analyse Faceless, a powerful novel about homeless children - and their mothers.
The classically trained jazz pianist fled dictatorship in Ethiopia.
Screengrab/YouTube/FeelBeit/Emahoy Tsegué - Live Tribute
Her exquisite piano compositions drew fans to the Jerusalem monastery where she lived after fleeing Ethiopia.
Stella Chiweshe, performing in Amsterdam in 1988, kept ancient traditions alive.
Frans Schellekens/Redferns via Getty Images
She paved the way for women to play the mbira – and then took the ancient tradition global.
Regina Twala in a rare photograph with her first husband Percy Kumalo, 1936.
Courtesy Ohio University Press
A powerful new book restores the writer and feminist politician to her rightful place in history.
Madosini performing in Johannesburg in 2021.
Oupa Bopape/Gallo Images via Getty Images
The queen of Xhosa music has passed away. She reinvigorated ancient Xhosa cultural traditions through performance and teaching.
Detail of a photo of Lilian Ngoyi making a speech in 1960.
Azola Daniel/Wikimedia Commons
The pioneering role she played, and the sacrifices she made, extended well beyond the famous 1956 Women’s March.
Jacana Media
The books aim to write women back into history for children to see that women are able to take up powerful positions in society.
Sarah Baartman was an international sensation of objectification.
British Library
In the 19th century, Baartman was dehumanized and mocked for her large posterior. So what does it mean when Black women today strive for ‘Sarah Baartman hips’?
Interior of the winning design for the Serpentine Pavilion.
Image courtesy Counterspace
The winners of the prestigious architecture commission are from Johannesburg’s Counterspace studio and offer a fresh view on creating buildings.
Detail from the cover of the book Surfacing.
Wits University Press
Undocumented for decades, black South African feminists are increasingly visible. The essays in Surfacing present 22 leading thinkers.
Big World Cinema/Afrobubblegum
It wasn’t just the film Rafiki - a joyful lesbian love story - but also the experience of going to watch it after it was unbanned that created a new kind of freedom.
Grace Mugabe at the funeral of former president Robert Mugabe.
JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP via Getty Images
Sexist slandering has been used not just to describe Grace Mugabe, but to denigrate any women who aspire to political positions.
Women have to push through barriers to access higher education.
XiXinXing/Shutterstock
Women face a number of socio-economic challenges that make it harder for them to access higher education.
The racial nature of the campaign lies behind the poor uptake in Africa.
shutterstock
The visibility of #MeToo makes it easy to overlook the very powerful campaigns against sexual violence in Africa.
Messaging services like WhatsApp open many doors for Nigerian women.
i_am_zews/Shutterstock
With technology women are able to become agents of their own change.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s record on women’s rights has been mixed.
REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
The international media and her supporters continue to hoist Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf up as the matron of African women’s rights. But she does not deserve this title.
Women’s ability to work is severely constrained by the lack of child care facilities in urban slums.
Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
For most women, participating in the labour force is dependent on whether they have adequate child care they can rely on.