by Belinda Smith Feminism has come a long way. But how far has it really come? Patriarchal structures still exist and are yet to be completely vanquished. However, there may have been some victories achieved in the last few decades that warrant debates around the vexed post-feminist agenda. Simidele Dosekun cleverly utilises beauty politics as…
Category: Reviews
Tahir’s Youth: Leaderless Revolution, by Rusha Latif
by Kamal Rusha Latif’s Tahrir’sYouth: Leaders of a Leaderless Revolution (2022) joins the body of published books that contribute to a historiography of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. The book opens with an “Introduction” which frames the whole project by addressing leadership in social movements and the agency of young people in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution….
Prison Notebook by Gertrude Fester
Self-published, 2022. by Desiree Lewis South African feminist writer, Gertrude Fester, was among the group of political prisoners who spent over 100 days in solitary confinement on Robben Island in the mid-1980s. In what became known as the Yengeni Trial, the trial of this group of activists, as well as their detention, dramatic accusation for…
African Women in Digital Spaces Redefining Social Movements on the Continent and in the Diaspora by Msia Kibona Clark and Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed. Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd, 2023
by Amanda Odoi Social media activism has become a pivotal global tool in recent decades for pushing and extending the feminist agenda, particularly among young feminists. With the widespread availability of smartphones and easy access to social media platforms, users now have access to a plethora of information on subjects ranging from news and gossip…
Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa, edited by Desiree Lewis and Gabeba Baderoon. Johannesburg: Wits University Press, 2021.
by Mardiya Siba Yahaya Writing the Self, Re-telling and Positioning Surfacing is an anthology that unravels, expands and rebuilds feminist practices as we know them.The book highlights the realities and thoughts of South African feminists and actively makes use of “writing the self” (Baderoon 2015) as a literary tool, but is not limited to it….
Wangari Maathai, by Tabitha Kanogo. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2020
-by Patricia Kameri-Mbote Reviewing this book is an honour for me.The subject –Wangari Maathai – is a woman I knew personally and admired greatly. She and I shared a cup of tea and buns at an international symposium that she had officially opened as an Assistant Minister for environment law on the morning of the…
A Magnifying Glass and A Fine-Tooth Comb: Understanding Girls’ and Young Women’s Sexual Vulnerability, by Mzikazi Nduna. Pretoria: CSA&G Press, Centre for Sexualities, AIDS and Gender, University of Pretoria, 2020.
by Jamela Robertson While reading this monograph, one could not help but be taken back to relive experiences as a young woman living in different communities across South Africa. From the outset, the author stirs up memories of adolescent questions and confusions around whether one had free will, through which one made decisions and choices…
Beauty Diplomacy: Embodying an Emerging Nation, by Oluwakemi M. Balogun. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020.
by Sharon Adetutu Omotoso While reading this monograph, one could not help but be taken back to relive experiences as a young woman living in different communities across South Africa. From the outset, the author stirs up memories of adolescent questions and confusions around whether one had free will, through which one made decisions and…
Gender, Separatist Politics, and Embodied Nationalism in Cameroon
by Jacqueline-Bethel Tchouta Mougoué While reading this monograph, one could not help but be taken back to relive experiences as a young woman living in different communities across South Africa. From the outset, the author stirs up memories of adolescent questions and confusions around whether one had free will, through which one made decisions and…
When the Light is Fire: Maasai Schoolgirls in Contemporary Kenya by Heather D. Switzer.
by Monique Kwachou As per the old English adage, “Do not look a gift horse in the mouth,”, we have been made to believe that questioning the value of something “intended for good” is wrong. Yet, a plethora of critiques of development theories and initiatives in the Global South suggest that, if not properly vetted,…