About Eyala

Eyala is a platform by, for and about African feminists.

Eyala is a bilingual (French-English) platform that centres and amplifies the voices and lived experiences of African girls, women and LBTQI people who dare disrupt patriarchal norms across the continent and in diaspora communities.

We support African feminists in using their voices as a rallying cry against patriarchal oppression. We create spaces where African feminists can connect in ways that are political and intimate. We seek to intentionally foster sisterhood as a core principle for feminist movement-building.

Just to be clear: our use of the word “women” is inclusive of LBQTI women and other gender non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals.

Eyala explores what it means to be an African feminist today.

African feminists get a bad rap. We’re depicted as exceptions to the victimhood rule by Western media and development organizations. We’re erased from the history of pan-Africanism that remains male-centred. We’re even vilified and called traitors to our African culture by fellow Africans. And we’ve had enough of all that.

With Eyala, we explore what it means to be an African feminist today through intimate conversations with African women from all walks of life who redefine and embody feminism through their work, activism, artistry, and life choices. Here, you will learn from African women who empower their communities and disrupt the status quo, lobby governments and run women's rights networks. Women who use their art, voice or platform to demand equal rights. Women who risk everything to challenge the patriarchy.

Eyala harnesses the power of authentic conversation.

Conversations are at the heart of Eyala. We believe conversations can change minds, build movements and even save lives. This is why we chose our name: in Duala (a language from Cameroon), Eyala means “words”, or more literally, “that which is spoken”.

Whether they are individual interviews or Eyala Circles, the conversations we host always center African feminists’ life journeys and intimate stories - not just their professional expertise. We recognize that the agendas of most feminist convenings are focused largely on what we do, with little room for understanding who we are and what drives us.

What does feminism mean to the African women who champion it every day? What experiences drove them to activism? What is their vision for change? Who do they look up to? What trade-offs and compromises have they had to make? These questions hardly ever make it to the agenda. With Eyala, these questions are the agenda.

Eyala connects African feminists across language barriers.

Voices from French-speaking African countries have traditionally been forgotten or marginalized in regional feminist movements that are predominantly English-speaking. Translating reports and providing interpretations just won’t cut it, so, with Eyala, we’re trying something else.

We make sure that all content is available in both English and French and we engage French-speaking African feminists through an approach defined with them that respond to their specific needs.

We’re relaunching Eyala in 2022!

Initially launched in 2018, Eyala operated as a self-funded, individual initiative by our founder Françoise Moudouthe for the first couple of years. It was an exciting journey of learning, connecting, and realizing how much more Eyala could do - and that growth would require a more collective approach. So we paused, we restrategized, and now we’re back! We are proud to relaunch Eyala in 2022 as a collective venture, with the generous financial support of the Foundation for a Just Society.

Eyala is Yours! 

We invite you to join our community today! If you would like to tell us about your journey, suggest feminists we should profile, or share questions you've always wanted to ask African feminists, get in touch!

Be sure to join the conversation in the comments and on social media, and share, share, share.