African Feminist Perspectives Matter: A Reading List

Collage of African feminists. Top Row, left to right: Ghanaian author, author, poet, playwright and academic, Ama Ata Aidoo (Photo retrieved from goodreads); Eritrean musician, poet and political activist, Tsehaytu Beraki (Photo retrieved from Wikipedia); Ugandan activist and organizer, Keem Love Black (Photo retrieved from Twitter). Bottom row, left to right: Nigerian author and novelist, Buchi Emecheta (Photo Credit: George Hallett/Africa Media Online/Writer Pictures); Ugandan medical anthropologist, feminist, queer rights activist, Dr. Stella Nyanzi (Photo Credit: SUMY SADURNI for Getty Images); and South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (Wikimedia Commons).

By Nana Afua Yeboaa Brantuo, Terza A. Silva-Neves, and Namupa Shivute

Check out this reading list from our Zoom event, “African Feminist Perspectives Matter.”

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On Wednesday, July 22, 2020, Black Women Radicals presented the online discussion on “African Feminist Perspectives Matter.” The panel was hosted by Nana Afua Yeboaa Brantuo, with panelists including Keem Love Black, Dr. Terza A. Silva Lima-Neves, Saaret Yoseph, Françoise Moudouthe, and Namupa Shivute.

The event focused on the following: In discussions on the radical Black feminist traditions, African women and gender non-conforming and non-binary radicals have often been overlooked. How can we center African feminist perspectives & African feminist productions in our Black/African radical feminist praxis? In discussions on the radical Black tradition and Black feminist/Womanist radicalism(s), African women and gender non-conforming and non-binary radicals have often been overlooked. Moreover, in discussions on Black feminisms and Womanisms, oftentimes African women’s perspectives and positionalities on feminisms, politics, scholarship and more have either been overlooked and/or conflated with U.S./Black American/North American understandings of Black feminisms and Womanisms. Several African women scholars, writers, activists and educators such as Molara Ogundipe-Leslie, Shereen Essof, Mariama Bâ, Frances Baard, Suad Ibrahim Ahmed, and countless others have contributed significantly to understandings and interrogations of African politics and African feminist political thought and behavior on and off the continent.

With this, how can we center African feminisms and African feminist intellectual, cultural, and political productions, activism, and more as a radical feminist praxis? Who are historical and contemporary African feminist articulators, activists, changemakers, and radicals? How have African Women Radicals contributed to and were at the vanguard of social movements across the continent? How can learning from and about African women and gender non-conforming and non-binary people’s leadership catalyze and create solidarities, sisterhoods, and sibling-hoods in Africa and across the Diaspora?

Below is the reading list from the event. We are thankful to Nana Afua Yeboaa Brantuo, Terza A. Silva-Neves, and Namupa Shivute for contributing to the reading list!

You can watch our event, “African Feminist Perspectives Matter” hosted by Nana Afua Yeboaa Brantuo, with panelists including: Keem Love Black, Dr. Terza A. Silva Lima-Neves, Saaret Yoseph, Françoise Moudouthe, and Namupa Shivute.

Charters/Declarations 

• African Feminist Post-covid-19 Economic Recovery Statement

• African Lgbti Manifesto/Declaration

• Declaration By Burundian Women's Rights Organisations

• Feminist Charter - African Feminist Forum

• The Kwazulu Natal Declaration

• The Women’s Charter For Effective Equality - Women’s National Coalition Of The African National Congress

• Workshop Commitments And Recommendations - Sierra Leone/West African Workshop On Women In Parliament

Syllabi 

• A Feminst African Philosophy Syllabus By Omedi Ochieng

• African Gender Institute At The University Of Cape Town

  • Gender-based Violence Bibliography 

  • An Academic Course On Gender, Conflict, And Peace In Africa

  • Gender And Development Course Outline

  • Resources On Women/Gender & The Law

  • Gender And Sexualities In African Contexts

  • African Feminist Resources - Our Voices

• African Women Writers By Dr. Rose Sau Lugano

• African Feminisms/ Global Black Feminisms By Mzilikazi Koné

• Cite African Feminists: Some Readings By Awino Okech

Books 

• African Feminist Politics Of Knowledge Tensions, Challenges, Possibilities Edited By Akosua Adomako Ampofo

• African Sexualities - A Reader Edited By Sylvia Tamale 

• African Women's Theologies, Spirituality, And Healing: Theological Perspectives From The Circle Of Concerned African Women Theologians By Mercy Amba Oduyoye

• African Women And Feminism : Reflecting On The Politics Of Sisterhood By Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí

• Beyond The Masks : Race, Gender, And Subjectivity By Amina Mama 

• Challenging Patriarchy - The Role Of Patriarchy In The Roll-back Of Democracy Edited By Caroline Kioko, Rosebell Kagumire, Mbalenhle Matandela

• Daughters Of Anowa: African Women And Patriarchy By Mercy Amba Oduyoye 

• Decolonization And Afro-feminism By Sylvia Tamale 

• Feminist Parenting: Perspectives From Africa And Beyond Edited By Rama Salla Dieng And Andrea O’reilly 

• Gender Epistemologies In Africa : Gendering Traditions, Spaces, Social Institutions, And Identities By Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí

• Gender Terrains In African Cinema Edited By Dominica Dipio

• Introducing African Women's Theology By Mercy Oduyoye

• Male Daughters, Female Husbands : Gender And Sex In An African Society By Ifi Amadiume

• Queer African Reader Edited By Sokari Ekine And Hakima Abbas

• Re-creating Ourselves: African Women & Critical Transformations By Molara Ogundipe-leslie

• Re-inventing Africa : Matriarchy, Religion, And Culture By Ifi Amadiume

• The Invention Of Women : Making An African Sense Of Western Gender Discourses By Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí

• Theorizing Black Feminisms : The Visionary Pragmatism Of Black Women Edited By Stanlie Myrise James, Abena P. A. Busia

• Transatlantic Feminisms Women And Gender Studies In Africa And The Diaspora Edited By Cheryl R. Rodriguez, Dzodzi Tsikata, Akosua Adomako Ampofo

• Women Writing Africa (The Southern Region, West Africa And The Sahel, The Eastern Region, The Northern Region)

  • Eastern Region Edited By Amandina Lihamba, Fulata L Moyo, Mugyabuso M Mulokozi, Naomi L Shitemi, Saida Yahya-othman

  • Northern Region Edited By Amira Nowaira, Azza El Kholy, Fatima Sadiqi, Moha Ennaji

  • Southern Region Edited By Chiedza Musengezi, Dorothy Driver, Leloba Molema, Margie Orford, Mj Daymond, Nobantu Rasebotsa, Sheila Meintjies 

  • West Africa And The Sahel Edited By Esi Sutherland Addy And Aminata Diaw

Articles/Essays/Interviews  

• Ainehi Edoro’s Feminism In African Lit Course At UW-madison Theorizes Mona Eltahawy, Nnedi Okorafor, Titilope Sonuga, Wanuri Kahiu, & Beyonce

• Being A Feminist Is A Journey - An Interview With Françoise Kpeglo Moudouthe

• Decolonising Emotional Well-being And Mental Health In Development: African Feminist Innovations By Jessica Horn

• ‘Disabled motherhood in an African community’: Towards an African women theology of disability by Dr. Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale

• 'Deliver us from patriarchy': A gendered perspective of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa and implications for pastoral care by Dr. Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale

• Feminism, Religion And Culture In Senegal - An Interview With Maimouna Thior And Adama Pouye. Translation By: Oumar Ba

• Feminist Organizing On Digital Platforms - An Interview With Rosebell Kagumire 

• Feminist Organizing Offline In Africa - An Interview With Mwanahamisi Singano

• Fighting Rape Culture In Ghana By Moshood 

• Heroinas D’nos Terra: Cabo Verdean Women, 34 Years After Independence By Dr. Terza Alice Silva Lima-Neves

• D'Nos Manera: Gender, Collective Identity and Leadership in the Cape Verdean Community in the US by Terza Lima-Neves

• “Free Men Name Themselves: U.S. Cape Verdeans & Black Identity Politics in the Era of Revolutions, 1955-75 by Aminah Pilgrim

• Meridians, Volume 17, Issue 2 - African Feminisms: Cartographies For The Twenty-first Century

  • Feminism In African Hip Hop By Msia Kibona Clark 

  • Contested Encounters: Toward A Twenty-first-century African Feminist Ethnography By Selina Makana

  • Creating The Archive Of African Women’s Writing: Reflecting On Feminism, Epistemology, And The Women Writing Africa Project By Abena P. A. Busia 

  • Gender And (Militarized) Secessionist Movements In Africa: An African Feminist’s Reflections By Jacqueline-bethel Tchouta Mougoué

  • “We Fit In The Society By Force”: Sex Work And Feminism In Africa By Ntokozo Yingwana

• On Africa’s Feminist Frontlines, We Need Accessible Care Practices To Sustain Our Movements By Jessica Horn 

• Queer Feminists Organizing Offline In Ghana - An Interview With Fatima B. Derby, Rita Nketiah, Golda Gatsey, And Sheila Adufutse

• Reclaiming Digital Platforms For African Feminists - An Interview With Tiffany Mugo

• Talking Back: African Feminisms In Dialogue By Rama Salla Dieng 

• Teaching As Grassroots Feminist Militantism - An Interview With Ndeye Debo Seck

• The Bedroom Adventures Of African Women - An Interview With Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

• Thoughts On Radical Care In African Feminist Praxis By Jessica Horn 

• Transnational African Feminisms - An Interview With Annette Joseph-gabriel And Mame Fatou-Niang

• Ubuntu as care: Deconstructing the gendered Ubuntu by Dr. Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale

• Women’s Political Consciousness In Senegal - An Interview With Ruth Bush

• Homosexuality in Uganda: The Paradigm of Foreign Influence by Stella Nyanzi

• Helena Lopes da Silva by Mariana Carneiro

Novels/Plays 

• Anowa By Ama Ata Aidoo 

• Bride Price By Buchi Emecheta

• Contemporary Plays By African Women: Niqabi Ninja; Not That Woman; I Want To Fly; Silent Voices; Unsettled; Mbuzeni; Bonganyi Edited By Yvette Hutchison, Amy Jephta

• Efuru By Flora Nwapa

• Everything Good Will Come By Sefi Atta

• Nervous Conditions By Tsitsi Dangarembga

• Questions For Ada By Ijeoma Umebinyuo 

• So Long A Letter Mariama Bâ

• Stay With Me By Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

• The Girl Who Can And Other Stories By Ama Ata Aidoo 

• The Joys Of Motherhood By Buchi Emecheta

• The Slave Girl By Buchi Emecheta

• This Is How We Disappear By Titilope Sonuga

• We Should All Be Feminists By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Podcasts/Websites/Documentaries

• Otherwise? By Brenda Wambui

• Heard Not Seen: A Namibian Podcast

• Kuchu Times by Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera

• Sodom & Gomorrah: Exporting Homophobia to Africa by Namupa Shivute 

• Interview with Zezinha Chantre (Portuguese)

• As mulheres da Independência (Cabo Verde) (Portuguese)

• African Feminism

• Adventures From the Bedrooms of African Women