by Jaimee A. Swift The Origins of the Collaboration In June 2020, I received an email from Jessica Horn – a prominent Pan-African feminist activist, author, and founding member of the African Feminist Forum (AFF), who was then the Director of Programmes at the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF). She wanted to connect and collaborate…
Category: Archive
Somewhere We Can Talk: A Profile of the Young Feminist Collective
by Maame Akua Kyerewaa-Marfo and Maame Adwoa Amoa-Marfo Introduction: Who We Are Conversations hold transformative power. Indeed, African theorists have always made a strong case for recognising conversation as part of a legitimate indigenous knowledge system and theorising reflective conversations (Nekura 2025; Osei-Tutu 2021). The Accra-based Young Feminist Collective (YFC) emerged from a common need…
The Uganda Feminist Forum: Single Sticks that Formed an Unbreakable Bundle
by Sarah Mukasa Background The genesis of the Uganda Feminist Forum (UFF) – first convened in January 2008 – can be traced back to 2005 when several national and global factors impacted the women’s movement in the country. These factors both shaped the main trajectory of the movement and brought to a head underlying philosophical…
From the Feminist Charter to Beyoncé and Radical Optimism: Reflections of Younger African Feminists
Jackline Kemigisa moderates an online conversation between young(er) African feminists Jackline Kemigisa (JK): Let’s begin with brief self-introductions; as you introduce yourselves, please tell us what it is that you do to pay your bills, what brings you joy and where you belong in the various variations of feminisms. I am a Ugandan feminist who…
“Let the Steam Rise and the Truths Bubble as We Stir the Pot!”: Reflections of the Pioneer AFF Working Group
Hope Chigudu moderates an online conversation among members. of the pioneer AFF Working Group Hope Chigudu (HC): This is a conversation among movement warriors, thinkers, and strategists. We gather to reflect on the Charter’s legacy twenty years after the inaugural African Feminist Forum in Accra. We speak not to revise, but to remember, to reckon,…
Pan-African Feminism in the Age of Neo-Imperial Apo-Collapse
by Nancy Kachingwe Introduction Post-colonial African feminisms have largely neglected the histories of capitalism, neo-imperialism and neo-colonialism. The concept of African Feminism was popularised by the publication of the Charter of Feminist Principles for African Feminists in 2006. The Charter explicitly frames African feminist struggles against gender oppression as intertwined with resistance to racism, slavery,…
The Challenge of Reimagining Our Culture: A Feminist Perspective
by Fatou Sow Abstract This paper argues that African culture must be re-envisioned through a feminist lens in order to address African women’s claims to equality, bodily autonomy, and social justice, as highlighted by the Charter of Feminist Principles for African Feminists. It demonstrates how cultural values – frequently mobilised by post-independence states – have…
The Dynamics of Birthing a Continental Feminist Movement: From Zanzibar to Accra
by Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi Abstract This feature article offers personal, candid reflections on African feminisms, movement-building and the bumpy journey towards crafting the Charter of Feminist Principles for African Women. I recount the story of creating an African-initiated, decolonial collective feminist space from the perspective of one in the “eye” of the storm. I analyse how,…
Alive and Growing: Twenty Years of the African Feminist Forum
by Sylvia Tamale Editorial AFF: The Unshakable Baobab We often hear the provocative remark: “the feminist movement is dead!” If feminism were truly dead, we would not see a global, ultra-conservative movement rising specifically to undo five decades of feminist achievements. Incubated by the crises of neoliberalism and imperialism and evolving into a new “hyper-imperialism,”…
Feminist Africa 2026, Volume 7, Issue 1“Twenty Years of the African Feminist Forum”
by Sylvia Tamale We often hear the provocative remark: “the feminist movement is dead!” If feminism were truly dead, we would not see a global, ultra-conservative movement rising specifically to undo five decades of feminist achievements. Incubated by the crises of neoliberalism and imperialism and evolving into a new “hyper-imperialism,” the anti-gender movement has placed…