By Adedoyin Aguoru As a young academic at Olabisi Onabanjo University in 2005, I watched with growing interest as the Department of English prepared to receive a renowned visitor. It was Professor ‘Molara Ogundipe and there was so much excitement in the air.Samson Dare, then Head of the Department of English, spoke so glowingly about…
Category: Tributes
Tribute: Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf and Her ‘Jihad’ of the Heart (December 1952–September 2015)
Born December 2, 1952 in Kano, Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf passed away on the 24th of September 2015, in the process of performing the Holy Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. In the years between, she accomplished so much that it would be foolhardy to attempt to capture even the essence of her many achievements in one short…
Tribute to Aminata Diaw Cissé: 1959-2017
By Fatou Sow Aminata Diaw was our friend. She was my colleague, my sister, my friend. We became colleagues upon her arrival in 1986 at the University of Dakar. Young and brilliant, with a string of qualifications under her belt, she became one of the first Senegalese women to teach philosophy there. It was still…
Elaine Rosa Salo (1962-2016) – An Appreciation
By Terri Barnes Everyone and anyone connected to Feminist Africa knew Elaine, so although I am typing this alone at my computer, I also feel that I am writing a collective statement about our friend and comrade. Elaine was not a friend to everyone. She did not suffer racists, fools or hypocrites lightly. Read the…
Raising the Veil — A Tribute to Bi Kidude (circa 1910-2013)
By Vicensia Shule We met Bi Kidude in 2003 in Zanzibar, when we were at the planning meeting for the African Feminist Congress. She liked to smoke and drink in public. She liked to sing in public. She also liked to straddle her drum and gyrate her hips as she beat that drum. She said…