Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. She is the author of three critically acclaimed novels: Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013). She also released a short story collection, The Thing around Your Neck in 2009. Chimamanda self-identifies as a feminist and has written and given speeches on various current topics...

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Tanzania: Rebuke of Inheritance Laws Is a Victory for Women

Estelle (not her real name) had a good life as a tailor and a mother of three children, living in a home she acquired with her husband. But when her husband passed away, Estelle, like many Tanzanian widows, soon found that she and her three young children were homeless. When the court named her brother-in-law the administrator of her property, he seized it and began renting it out for profit. Under...

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Rainatou Sow

Rainatou Sow – Executive Director of Make Every Woman Count Rainatou Sow is the founder and executive director of Make Every Woman Count, an organization that monitors women’s rights throughout the African contintent. The Guinean activist was named "Inspirational Woman of 2012" by the United Kingdom based group, Women 4 Africa. She has also been featured on CNN, as well as in Forbes Africa.  Follow...

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Women’s Groups Alarmed by Financing for Development Plans

Call on Governments to Adopt Strong Political Declaration Rooted in Human Rights UNITED NATIONS—The Women’s Major Group, representing more than 600 women’s groups from over 100 countries, is deeply disappointed with the outcome of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week. What came out of the conference, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, is...

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Let’s break the barriers to contraception in Burkina Faso.

If you’re a girl in Burkina Faso, chances are your childhood won’t last long. Forced early marriage is common, as is early pregnancy. If you’re a woman, you may be denied contraception, simply because you don’t have your husband’s permission. And if you do manage to get contraception, you may be forced to use it in secret for fear of being accused of adultery by your partner or in-laws.  If you’re...

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Maame Afon Yelbert-Obeng

Maame Afon Yelbert-Obeng – Activist and Musician Born and raised in Ghana, Maame is a committed advocate and a passionate leader, who is also a dynamic singer and recording artist. She recently released her second album, titled Ekome. She has worked as a Program Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at the Global Fund for Women, and is Board Member and co-chair of the Bay Area Regional Advisory Committee...

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Free Narges Mohammad

Iranian human rights defender Narges Mohammadi was arrested on 5 May. She is on trial for charges stemming from her human rights activities. She is a prisoner of conscience. The Intelligence Ministry has made a written request to impose the maximum punishment on human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, her husband Taghi Rahmani told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “Recently Ms....

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Ama Ata Aidoo

Ama Ata Aidoo – Writer Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, née Christina Ama Aidoo, is a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, and academic. She also served as a Minister of Education in Ghana under the Jerry Rawlings administration. She currently lives in Ghana. In 2000, she established the Mbaasem Foundation to promote and support the work of African women writers.  Follow her on Twitter: @AmaAtaAidoo Read...

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Melissa Kiguwa

Melissa Kiguwa – Poet and Artist Melissa Kiguwa is an artist, a daughter, and a radical feminist. Her artistry ranges from designing one of a kind custom-made pieces of jewelry to poetry to improvisational blues performance. Her work is rooted in acknowledging and giving praise to diverse global Afro experiences. Raised by a Haitian father and a Ugandan mother, Melissa considers herself an “Afro-nomad.”...

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Feminist Principles of the Internet

Developed at the Gender, Sexuality and the Internet Meeting organized by the Association for Progressive Communications 13-15 April, 2014 – Malaysia - In April 2014, the Association for Progressive Communications, APC, organized a Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in Port Dickson, Malaysia, bringing together 50 participants from six continents comprising gender and women’s rights...

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Aisha Fofana Ibrahim

Aisha Fofana Ibrahim – Professor and Activist Aisha Fofana Ibrahim is the Director of the Gender Research and Documentation Centre at the University of Sierra Leone’s Fourah Bay College. In 2009-2010, she was the Helleiner Visiting Research Fellow at The North-South Institute, an IDRC-funded fellowship. While at The North-South Institute, Ibrahim’s work focused on affirmative action as a means to overcome...

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Yaba Badoe

Yaba Badoe – Activist and Filmmaker Yaba Badoe is a Ghanaian-British documentary filmmaker, producer, and writer. A graduate of King’s College in Cambridge, she worked as a civil servant in Ghana before becoming a General Trainee with the BBC. She has taught in Spain and Jamaica, and has worked as a producer and director making documentaries for the main terrestrial channels in Britain and the University...

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Purity Kagwiria

Purity Kagwiria – Executive Director of the Akili Dada Institute Purity Kagwiria serves as the Executive Director of the Akili Dada institute, an organization that provides education and leadership opportunity to girls and women in Kenya. A journalist by profession, Purity is an active member of the feminist/women's rights movement and she is committed to analyzing the private and personal spaces...

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Yewande Omotoso

Yewande Omotoso – Writer Yewande Omotoso was born in Barbados and grew up in Nigeria with her Barbadian mother, Nigerian father, and two older brothers. The family moved to South Africa in 1992. Yewande trained as an architect at the University of Cape Town, to which she returned after working as an architect for several years, to complete a master’s degree in Creative Writing. The product of her...

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Amina Mama

Amina Mama – Professor and Researcher Professor Amina Mama is Nigerian-British feminist writer and intellectual who has worked for over two decades in research, teaching, organizational change, and editing in Nigeria, Britain, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the U.S.A. She spent a decade at the University of Cape Town’s African Gender Institute where she led the collaborative development of feminist...

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Nana Sekyiamah

Nana Sekyiamah – Writer, Blogger & Activist Nana Sekyiamah calls herself a “Fab African Feminist.” She has served in many leadership roles on the African continent for years as the Communications Specialist for the African Women’s Development Fund, a leading pan-African grant funding organization in Ghana. She focuses on writing stories that explore issues around the diverse sexualities of African...

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Amina Doherty

Amina Doherty – Artivist Amina Doherty is a Nigerian feminist ARTivist whose work focuses on feminist philanthropy and creative arts advocacy. She has facilitated learning initiatives on women’s rights, youth development, philanthropy, and economic justice. Amina actively supports several community-led media platforms and brings to her activism a passion for music, art, travel, photography, fashion...

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TIMOR-LESTE COURT APPIES CEDAW IN DECISION OF A CASE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

On 9 February 2015 the Dili District Court conducted a hearing to announce its decision and convicted the defendant HGS for committing the crime of domestic violence against his wife in Dili District. The court found that in February 2012 the defendant punched the victim once in the face and once on the back of the neck and caused the victim to fall to the ground. These acts caused the victim to suffer...

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Minna Salammi

Minna Salammi – Activist, Blogger & Speaker Minna is a Nigerian-Finnish writer, blogger and speaker and the founder of MsAfropolitan, a multiple award-winning pan-African feminist blog. She is also a member of the Duke University Corporate Education Global Learning Resource Network, the Guardian Africa Network, a board member of UK Charity For Books’ Sake, and a Huffington Post contributor.  I...

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Leymah Gbowee

Leymah Gbowee – Activist Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, social worker and women's rights advocate. She is also a 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate. She is the founder and president of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, based in Monrovia. Leymah is best known for leading a nonviolent movement that brought together Christian and Muslim women to play a pivotal role in ending Liberia's devastating, 14-year...

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Osai Ojigbo

Osai Ojigbo – Lawyer and Activist Osai Ojigbo is a lawyer, gender justice advocate, and human rights activist. She holds a law degree from the University of Lagos in Nigeria and a Master’s of Law degree from the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. She served as the Deputy Executive Director at Alliances for Africa (AfA), where she coordinated the Gender Justice in Africa Initiative. Osai...

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