Afrifem in Action: Edwige Renée Dro and 1949Books, the feminist library in Yopougon, Côte d’Ivoire

In 1949, more than 2000 women staged a march in Côte d’Ivoire, walking from Abidjan to Grand-Bassam in protest against French colonial rulers, and to demand the freedom of their compatriots. However, when the story of this remarkable movement is told, the role of these women is often reduced to that of wife and mother to male political leaders.

In this edition of our AfriFem in Action series, we chat with Edwige Renée Dro, African feminist writer and founder of 1949 books, the library of women's writings from Africa and the Black world. We learn about the story behind the 1949 March, how it inspired the creation and name of the library, and what it means to run this space in the heart of Yopougon in Abidjan.

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Edwige, it’s an honour to feature you for our #AfriFemInAction series, especially as someone who has been a part of our team. How do you introduce yourself?

Thank YOU! This is one of my best interviews. I am Edwige Renée Dro. I’m from Côte d’Ivoire and I now live in Abidjan. It’s one of those things I never thought I would do; I thought I would live maybe in Yamoussoukro – I’m not a great fan of big cities but here we are. I’m a writer and a literary translator. I am also a literary activist.

And that’s exactly what we will be talking about. But first, what does being an African feminist signify for you?

It is evidence that feminism is not some strange thing that fell on “evolved” African women, whatever people mean by “evolved”. It is even laughable when people decide to throw stones at you by saying that if you are a feminist as an African woman, you are westernized. I’m not mincing my words because saying that an African woman who knows she is worth being treated as a human being is westernized makes me weep and makes me angry. How can you completely decide to erase the stories and the contributions of women like Abra Pokou, Akwa Boni, Aline Sitoé Diatta, Tata Adjatché, Marie Angélique Savané, Andrée Blouin, and I could go on. These are women who didn’t see or let anyone see them as inadequate because they are women. And in their freedom, they inspired other women (and men), fought for the dignity of their people, people everywhere.

And as an African feminist, especially with the mentalities we see today, because many people do not educate themselves, it is important for me to use my privileges to say that I’m not doing anything extraordinary. I’m actually chilling. I read about Andrée Blouin, a feminist, and Patrice Lumumba’s Chief of Staff, and I’m blown away. Blown away! But some of our people imagine that these were the meek women that they want us to be today. Oh no! They were the original grandes gueules. We are our ancestresses!

I love the passion, and the very clear resistance against a single narrative of who African women and African feminists are. How would you describe your journey as a writer in relation to your identity as an African feminist?

Listen, your politics transpires in whatever you do. The more I evolve in my journey as a feminist, the more I want to be free in what I write about, in the projects I choose. Also, I started writing professionally in 2012; I identified as a feminist in 2016. But I started questioning things and people around me at the age of 5. That’s my earliest memory of when I questioned something. And that’s how I describe my relation between being a writer and being a feminist. They are both my identities. I can do nothing but write; I cannot be anything but a feminist because I refuse to be limited by the fact that I was born a woman. I mean, being a woman is the most beautiful thing ever.

You are also very passionate about translation, and you have talked about it being political. Can you tell us more about this?

Everything is political in my world. I’m very much a political and politicized woman. And I have chosen to identify as a literary translator – notice that I always precede “translator” with “literary”. I believe in the power of stories, and people have the right to tell their stories in whatever language they choose. As translators, we have the duty to render that and respect everything that went into it: cultural context, register of language, etc.

So, if someone writes “Ivorians do”, I will translate it as “les populations ivoiriennes font”, so that when we come to the pronoun, I will use “elles”. I don’t even want to use the “iels” (a contraction of ils and elles, for they in English) or “ivoirien.ne.s” (to designate Ivorian men and women) or God forfend, “travailleur.euse.s” (for workers, both men and women workers) because if you notice in those examples I have given, the masculine pronoun still leads. So, right now, my work is that the masculine pronoun doesn’t lead too much. Now in the work of fiction, it is a bit difficult, but then again, there lies the challenge: to choose work by writers with a political and feminist consciousness. This doesn’t mean that the writers whose projects I choose to work with are always feminist; sometimes, that is not the case. And that’s very fine. But it’s important that the work has consciousness.

What does that work of political translation mean for African feminist movement-building?

We need more and more translation; translators that are aware that we are not just replacing words with their equivalent meanings. Translators who want to push for translations of lesser-translated texts. Translators who want to bridge the gap. There is such a linguistic imbalance in feminist materials out there, so much imbalance, that we might be tempted to think that African feminism is English-speaking. One thing I loved with Eyala, and still do, is the way translation is done. When you are introducing Lorato Modongo, you don’t try to explain to us in the French-speaking world that Lorato Modongo is a powerhouse in Botswana. Eyala respects our intelligence, and this compassion in activism was very inspiring to me when I was in the reflection stage of 1949. Yes, standards will be high. Yes, it will be an intellectual place, but we will come with a desire to learn from others who have other qualities. We’ll be compassionate. I learn from people who get stuck in, for instance. It is not a very strong trait of mine. I live in my mind. I think a lot, I process things better through writing, etc.

You mentioned 1949, and I want us to get into that. It’s your baby, the African Feminist Library. What does the name signify?

I love that you say THE African Feminist Library. I call it THE library or LA bibliothèque and I like that. It is not an undefined library (laughs). 1949 is the year women politicians of the PDCI (parti démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire) and the wider RDA (Rassemblement démocratique africain) marched against the French colonial administration in Côte d’Ivoire. Now, this march was not an organized march that we might think about when we think “march”. To evade arrest, they went in groups of two or three women at a time, and they pretended that they were going to the farm or to visit a friend or a family member. And it is how some 2,000 women arrived in Grand Bassam.  

What was the inspiration for the creation of the library, beyond the story that lends its name?

The library was set up on 5th March 2020, so we are four years old now, and therefore still at pre-school. The inspiration is the name, and I chose that name because either that story of the women’s march is all but forgotten or when people remember it, they say that more than 2,000 women marched to liberate their husbands (7 men) from prison, thereby negating the stories and the sacrifices of these women.

And going back to that first question about being an African feminist, you see why it is super important to bang on again and again about the contributions of women.

The inspiration for the creation of the library was also about NOT rounding the angles. One of our inspirations at the library is Stephanie St Clair. We don’t hide the fact that she was a gangster in Harlem in the 20s. So, in the same way we mention that she played an active role in the civil rights movement, writing and giving money to the movement, we also mention that she was a gangster. The two are not exclusive. Or we speak about the Nana Benz. I spoke earlier about inspiration. Some may say that their work as Nana Benz benefitted only their children and not the many other women in Togo, Benin, or Ghana. But what’s wrong with inspiring one’s child? And are we sure it is ONLY their children they inspired?

We who look on the actions of women who came before us, women who are more visible today… we must cultivate compassion. I tell you, when you are not in the thick of the action, there is so much you would do better.

And I think there is value in us looking back at what those things are and doing that ‘better’ in our time. What are some of the activities that you engage in at the library? I imagine it’s not just a space for reading, like most other libraries.

We are always doing something or the other at this library. I tell you, it’s the pre-school age!

We host feminist conversations every other month– we call them Le bissap féministe. We drink bissap (hibiscus juice), we choose a theme, and we talk about it. We also invite experts: lawyers, doctors and more. If we are holding a conversation around the mortality rate among women, we will invite a doctor, a gynaecologist so that when a woman leaves that conversation, she knows where to go, and she knows what shouldn’t happen to her. The library is in an area where the socio-economic background is lower, and we take that into account in our programming.

We also have conversations with young girls every fortnight – young men are allowed to join, but if they are not coming, we are not going to drag anybody from the street. We actually don’t do that, dragging either men or women off the street; we just want to be soooooo good that we give people no choice but to come to us. I mean, solely women’s writings, from Africa and the black world, organising things with names like Le bissap féministe! In Yopougon! Hahaha! So yes, we have conversations with young girls, and we read together. We play, by inviting a voice coach. If we want women, young girls to speak up, well, they need to be taught HOW to speak up. And if you speak in your throat and your voice is monotone, nobody is going to listen to you.

We also do storytelling with children aged 5 to 8 years (pushing to 10 years old because no one wants to leave); we only read stories written by African and Black women. It is hard work. We need more stories for children that are not seeking to wrap things up with a nice morale at the end.

I like that you have something for people from different generations. What key plans do you have for this year?

Pre-schoolers never have a program. Hahaha! Their teachers do but they themselves don’t. For World Book Day, we decided to showcase the five Ivorian women to read. We now have a bookstore. We are doing creative writing masterclasses. We must document, and to do that, we must learn to document. We must learn how to tell a story. Sometimes you meet people who want to tell you the story of their suffering, but what makes the story of your suffering interesting? Suffering is suffering, to various degrees, but how do we say it? We’ve hosted two residencies so far, one a writing residency for women writers in Côte d’Ivoire at the beginning of their career, and one a research residency open to Black women from anywhere in the world. We’ve had one play: a group of women griots. We’re used to seeing men griots but here we had women.

In a nutshell, we don’t have programs; we do things as we’re inspired, and thankfully, they are all sticking so far. Some of them, like the podcast, we’ve had to put on hiatus, because funds, because time, because human resources. Research takes a lot of time!

I can’t wait to listen to the podcast when it launches, and we will be happy to share it with the Eyala community. How has the library been received in your community and beyond?

Listen, no one had any idea what we were doing, and I didn’t do anything to help myself by choosing the books I did or holding the kind of conversations I do. I’m a fun person but I tend to say things as I see it. I do it with a lot of compassion and care, but I say what is what.

The library has a restaurant, and one day, we had a man who came to eat, and he was amazed that we had all these books. Then he said: “I hope it is a panafrican library hein! You Africans these days.” I replied that it is panafrican. He looked around, and I suppose because he didn’t see Cheick Anta Diop, asked what makes it panafrican. I answered that a library that has works by Mariama Ba, Marie-Vieux Chauvet, Ken Bugul, Maryse Condé, etc. is as panafrican as panafricanism goes. He conceded grudgingly but said that I knew what he meant. I replied that I didn’t. I knew exactly what he meant, but what’s the fun in life if you’re going to shake the cobwebs in people’s minds?

Another parent decided not to allow his daughter to visit the library when he saw that on the back of our T-shirts, we’d written: the library of women’s writings from Africa and the Black world. I just asked him what was wrong with highlighting the contributions of African and Black women.

It’s interesting how much people can lose out on by holding on to their limited views and perspectives.

At our first bissap féministe, there were five people: me, the two guest speakers and two other people. Haha. At the first storytelling session, there were two kids and one of them was mine. Today, we do bissap féministe where 30 people attend, ages varying between 20 and 65 with most of them living in Yopougon. We have people who are not involved in feminist conversations. We have storytelling activities on Wednesdays and Saturdays with 20 kids attending each time.

During our first year, nobody knew there was even a library in the neighbourhood; today if you are lost, they will show you where it is. Beyond the community, we have had people telling us that the library was too far, and I have always wondered: far from what? Who? Where? Now, people come.

And what would you say is the impact you’re seeing from this space. Does it align with the vision you had when you created the library?

I see that we are focusing on the literary productions that put women at the centre of conversations. That parent who didn’t want his daughter to come to the library has now allowed her and even pays her subscription fee. That’s the vision. And it aligns.

I love that now, teenage girls come in and spend the time reading, whether we have an activity or not. I love that we open the doors 6 days a week from 10am to 9pm, and sometimes, nobody comes in! This, I always tell people. That’s why I love telling the stories of starting events where 2 people come, where nobody wants to come but keeping at it, pursuing the vision and the objectives you set out for yourself. My ambition with the library is not to run around like a headless chicken.

What three tips would you give to someone who is looking to set up a similar library somewhere in Africa?

• Decide why you want to set up a library that focuses on women’s contributions.

• Know that you will not and cannot do everything, and that this is very fine.

• Know that there are some conversations that you will not be able to hold now; write them in your notebook and either find a way to have them in a creative manner or later.

Let’s talk more about your personal connection with this library. How has running the library impacted your work as a writer, an African woman and as a feminist?

Oh, as a feminist African woman, I know the value of sleep. Siestas especially. I love nothing more than stopping everything at either 1pm or 2pm and just going for siestas – and my siestas are long! Basically, I sleep. So, I might wake up at 3:30, light some incense, drink tea, then start work again. I realised, the more I read, that the women who came before me, the women I admire today, they made time for themselves. And everyone has a way of making time. For me, it is siestas, it is choosing to not see people. It is choosing to read. Or going for a swim. It is definitely not a massage, for instance.

You don’t make the kind of music they did/do, wrote/write the things they did, paint(ed) without taking time for yourself. That’s why for the residencies here, we do not insist on creating. It is okay to go away to sleep, to read, to eat, to go for short walks, to drink great wine, to sleep some more, to be with yourself. In fact, one of our mottos at the library is: I have so much to do that I’m going to read.

We have so much to do. Our continent has so much to do. Let’s rest and read instead of running around with an obligation to produce.

As a writer, I want to learn how to write plays and show them. In the case of Côte d’Ivoire, some 51% of people cannot read or write French (and perhaps the 70 other languages of Côte d’Ivoire). But also, we have an oral culture and personally, I’m interested in the orality of literature. But I make time to write. I close my office door every Monday and Tuesday to write. I read every morning.

What is your biggest dream for the library?

The dream is too big that I cannot mention it.

Cheers to big dreams and hoping that we witness it all come to life. What writing can we expect from Edwige the writer soon?

I’m busy editing a novel – mine – and writing a collection of essays.

How can the Eyala community support you and the library?

We always need great books. We need volunteers. And funding! Which means fiscal sponsoring. It’s a long story but I’m prepared to talk about it if anyone is interested.

Let’s finish with our favourite final question: what is your feminist life motto?

Question always. Be free. Be compassionate.

Thank you so much Edwige. We look forward to joining you for a bissap féministe someday soon.

Discover 1949Books and Support the Library

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Afrifem in Action: Salématou Baldé and Aude N’depo Discuss the Mes Menstrues Libres festival in Côte d'Ivoire

Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed each year on May 28. This awareness day highlights the importance of good menstrual hygiene management, and many activities are usually organized to commemorate the day.

In this conversation, Salématou Baldé and Aude N’depo share their experience as members of the organizing team for Mes Menstrues Libres, the first festival focused on menstrual dignity in French-speaking West Africa. This year’s festival took place from 25th to 26th May 2024 in Abidjan.

We spoke with them ahead of the festival. Explore the interview to learn about how African feminists created this space for conversation, awareness-raising, and advocacy to tackle period poverty and deconstruct the stigma around menstruation.

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Hello Salématou and Aude! Let’s start with introductions. Please tell us who you are.

Salématou: My name is Salématou Baldé. I am a feminist activist, president of the NGO Actuelles, and a co-organizer of the first Mes Menstrues Libres festival in West Africa. NGO Actuelles is committed to promoting respect for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and women, including people with disabilities. Our programs focus on fighting against sexual and gender-based violence. We also engage in knowledge acquisition, skills development and training, as well as advocacy, a strategic area for the organization. Particularly advocacy for adopting a law on reproductive health in Ivory Coast.

Aude: I’m Aude N’depo, project coordinator for the organization Gouttes Rouges, a co-organizer of the Mes Menstrues Libres festival. Gouttes Rouges is an organization that works for menstrual dignity. We fight against illiteracy and period poverty.

Tell me about the origins of the Mes Menstrues Libres festival.

Aude: The festival was created by two great African feminists who work against period poverty: Amandine Yao, the president of Gouttes Rouges, and Salématou here.

Salématou: This will make you smile. Amandine and I have been involved in research on period poverty in Côte d’Ivoire. Our work is to make menstrual hygiene products accessible to young girls, restore their dignity, and make them understand that menstruation is normal. One day at the airport, we were traveling to Niamey to attend the first feminist Agora. I said to Amandine: “Wait, we’re going to Niamey and we’re going to meet other feminists and then we’ll fly back to Côte d’Ivoire. Don’t you think that this year we should do something special for Menstrual Hygiene Day?” She replied “Yeah, that’s a great idea.” Then I said, “How about a festival?” And she said “That’s amazing! Let’s talk about it when we get back.” That’s how we got the idea, at the airport while we waited to board our flight.

Haha, that’s amazing!

Salématou: Then the idea started to grow. What kind of activity could we offer? Who would participate? What were we going to talk about? How would we get funding? After we left the Agora, we continued the ideation process, and then it became necessary to find a name.

We had several names in mind and then Amandine asked: “What about Menstrues Libres?” This fit perfectly with the idea we had of the initiative. That’s how this great adventure began. Initially, there were two of us, but we brought in people from outside our organizations to help with the brainstorming. Then we agreed that it was necessary to bring together the organizations working to tackle period poverty, whether in prisons, markets, communities, or schools. So we got everyone together and organized the first edition with limited resources, thanks to the commitment and dynamism of our members. And now, we're hosting the second one on May 25 and 26, 2024 in Abidjan.

Aude: The idea for the festival was great. We’re two organizations that work on the issue. We know the realities that girls and women face. We know how sacred the woman’s body is. That it’s not something people talk about. Creating a festival where we open the discourse around it was necessary.

Absolutely. A festival like this is necessary. The taboos around menstruation are burdensome. There’s a lot of stigma and stereotypes. Do you remember the first time you had your period?

Aude: I remember being in the eighth grade when it happened. I was very embarrassed and I didn’t want to talk about it. And so, I didn’t. I went home. Since I have older sisters, I watched them. I managed alone, I didn’t have any pads so I found a cloth that I folded and wore. At some point, it got so soaked that my sister noticed and told me. She asked me: “Since when have you been on your period?” She taught me what to do, explained how things would go, what I had to do, and so on. I told myself that if I had been educated on the issue, things would have gone differently.

Later I began hanging out with other girls, and they told me that in school they couldn’t talk about menstruation because their male classmates mocked them. That’s when I realized how stigmatized and taboo it was. This is why I advocate for this cause.

 What are the goals of the festival?

Salématou: When we organized the Mes Menstrues Libres festival, we aimed to break the stigma and foster the sharing of experiences. Let’s take the example of girls who think that after their first period, they will get pregnant when a boy touches them. That’s a belief that’s been around for a while. Breaking the silence on this issue is crucial to begin sharing relevant information. It is necessary to offer a place for discussion, awareness-raising, and networking. We cannot neglect intergenerational conversations to let young girls know that they’re not alone. That it’s something natural that our mothers and grandmothers experienced before us. And that some of them still experience. Our next goal is to set up a framework for reflection on how to tackle period poverty in Côte d’Ivoire.

By starting the festival, I imagine that you also had some goals for engagement with the State and other stakeholders.

Yes. We wondered how to make the State consider the issue of period poverty as a major social issue. How can we face all of this? To answer all these questions, we need lots of people and an environment convenient for discussion.

There are some pads and menstrual cups in Côte d’Ivoire. Tampons aren’t fabricated here but they are sold. We therefore needed to find a way to gather these supplies in the same spaces, and bring in healthcare professionals. The composition of sanitary pads is often questioned.  How can we assemble them, initiate conversations, and find solutions? These were our initial goals with the festival.

This will be the second edition of the festival. How did the first one go? How did people react to it?

Salématou: On the first day, as soon as we started talking about it, people would say: “Wait, a festival on menstruation? A festival? These two don’t go together! Festivals are for having fun and dancing. But you’re talking about periods. No, no, no, no you need to tell us more about this.”

That’s true! I had the same reaction as well. But more in the sense of “Oh, this is a space where we can discuss serious matters with joy.” I love that! I am tired of symposiums and heavy spaces.

Salématou: And that was the idea. We knew that we often organized panels, webinars, and talks. However, for young people, it is necessary to bring them together in the places they’re already in. And festivals are great for that; the name only sparks interest. The first edition took place at the Koumassi Agora. This is a place for gatherings and community life. There are many schools nearby, as well as neighbourhoods with young people. They showed up and were very interested in the activities. There were some activities on a rolling schedule, and some that were available throughout the festival period. 

For instance, we had the painting workshop for which we couldn’t welcome a large number of participants. It was limited. Many young people couldn’t join. We vowed to do better for the second edition.

What was the most significant thing for you during the first edition?

Salématou: What struck me the most at that year's event was the attendance of the deputy mayor of Koumassi, to whom we had sent an invitation letter. He arrived and visited the stands. At the end of the festival, we submitted the report and during our discussions, we decided to return to the municipality for the second edition. It's a good start for collaboration and commitment from the authorities.

What about you Aude?

Aude: What struck me was the commitment of the young girls I saw. We had girls aged 9, 10, and 11 who were fully involved, listening to the panels, and asking questions. Above all, we had a special room called “The Experience Room” where everyone could come and tell their story, an anecdote about their menstruation experience. There were so many surprising stories and I thought it was truly a great idea to do this festival. We really helped people to speak out.

What’s the experience room?

Salématou: It's an empty room with a table in the middle, filled with papers and pens. We had some ropes hanging above and also had some pegs. So, when you arrive, you take a piece of paper, in any colour you like. You choose the coloured pen that suits you best, that you’re most comfortable with. You tell us about your menstrual experience anonymously. Anonymously. And when you've finished, you take your clip and put it on one of the strings. The idea is that the girls who come into the room can look around, read about the experiences, and think: “look, I'm not the only one going through this. This other person already did.” That's what the experience room is all about.

That’s wonderful!

Salématou: Yeah! It’s a great idea that we got from Amandine. It’s my favorite thing at the festival. Because each year we get to read wonderful stories.

Aude: The other thing that struck me was the festival’s impact. I am working on another project called Club Rouge. Through these clubs, we organize workshops in schools where I talk to young girls. These girls were invited to the first edition. When I went back to their school, their friends would come to me and say: “We weren’t invited, but here’s what our girlfriends had to say about the festival. We would love to get involved. We also have things to say. We don’t have toilets in our school, so we can’t change during our periods.” That means that there was feedback. The young girls who went to the festival shared their experience with their friends and in turn, motivated them to speak out.

We often talk about menstruation. However, it is not very common to hear about it from a feminist point of view. What does the festival contribute in this regard?

Salématou:  Well, the festival is run by two feminist organizations. The foundation is already clear. We can’t separate menstruation and feminism. We’re tackling an issue that concerns women and girls. We can’t let others speak for us. We can’t let girls grow without the right information. We must explain to girls what it's all about, and boost their confidence, self-esteem, and dignity. We need to deconstruct the myths and preconceived ideas imposed on us by society. We must be part of something and build it. This festival is also about creating and instilling a feminist spirit in girls.

You mentioned dignity. I increasingly see “menstrual dignity” instead of “menstrual hygiene”. Why is that?

Aude: We traditionally talk about “menstrual hygiene”. These words give a hygienist dimension to menstruation. It’s like accepting the notion that menstruation is dirty, something that needs to be washed because it’s not clean. We use the word “dignity” because menstruating is normal and natural. Some communities celebrate it. We don’t want to reinforce the preconceived ideas about menstruation. For us, it’s not dirty, it’s natural, the renewal of a cycle. This is why we talk about “menstrual dignity”.

Indeed, the term “menstrual hygiene” implies that menstruation is inherently dirty or something to be ashamed of. And that fuels the stigma around it. Saying “menstrual dignity” helps tackle these taboos and highlights the fact that this issue is also about ensuring people who menstruate are educated and have access to period supplies and sanitary facilities without being discriminated against. Does the festival also offer a space to talk openly about sexuality?

Salématou: Yes. Do you know about the Minou Libre workshops? We'll be hosting a Minou Libre workshop during the festival. There will also be talking circles and panels on various topics related to sexual and reproductive health.

That’s great. What are the activities planned for this second edition?

Salématou: Well, this year it will take place at the Koumassi youth center. The  mayor’s office offered us this space. For fixed activities, we have the workshops, the experience room, and the exhibition corridor, where partners and organizations working in the field of sexual and reproductive health come to exhibit and discuss with attendees. This year, there will be sewing, painting, and sculpture workshops. We also have a shop with mugs and tote bags for sale. The idea behind the event is to raise funds to renovate toilets in schools, especially in middle schools and high schools. This will enable young girls to have safe spaces with dignity so they don't have to use mixed toilets. Then there's the “Us” room. It's a room for resting and networking. We know that when you come to a festival from morning to night, sometimes you get tired. You can get a bit sluggish. So we've actually set up a room where you can rest, network, and chat, but in a very intimate and safe way. Those are the fixed activities.

As for the rolling activities, there are panels and discussions with experts. There are talking circles with a small, very intimate group. And of course, we have our evening presentation of the production of initiatives and organizations that we've called “Period party”. Because when we say festival, we also mean music and dance. We're going to have fun, we're going to dance.

That’s very interesting.

Aude: Yeah. The Mes Menstrues Libres festival will be awesome. The first day is open to everyone, we’ll have panels like last year. There will be activities to demystify menstruation. Then, there’ll be women-only workshops, to share our experiences, and help open the dialogue. We’ll talk about the initiatives set up to fight period poverty. We’ll share their best practices, learn, and draw inspiration from them.

Salématou: The new interesting addition this year will be our feminist charter. The charter will allow us to handle, or define everything that will be done at the festival, whether it’s words, gestures, or comments. Everything must be done in alignment with a feminist spirit. The charter will be presented to the festival-goers and all of our partners.  We also made some headway in the scientific structure of the festival. What can we do? What can we discuss? We thought about our feminist sisters from other countries; who can enlighten us, co-create? This also shows everything we have in mind to nurture the festival.

What challenges did you face with organizing the festival?

Salématou: I’d say one of our biggest challenges in setting up such a huge festival is first and foremost financial. The partners get involved a bit late. The first edition was difficult because our partners got on board during the week of the festival.  It’s tricky because we have productions and orders to place. The other challenge is time. Time is always against us. Sometimes we are under the impression that we have enough time before realizing that we don’t. We know the festival is happening in a week and we’re super busy.

Do you have further plans for the festival? Like making it happen in other countries?

Salématou: Yes we do. Amandine and I are currently thinking about it. The first and second editions took place in Côte d’Ivoire. If we have the partners to support us, why won’t we have the third edition in another country? I’ll keep the surprise.

What is the festival's demand from decision-makers?

Salématou: We have many priorities regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We’re using this festival as a platform to make these demands. We're talking about the importance of having a legal framework in which girls and women can enjoy their freedoms and rights in terms of sexual and reproductive health. This is an obstacle in Côte d’Ivoire. Without a legal framework, everything is skewed. There’s a legal void.

The second priority is information on sexual and reproductive health. Young people very often don't have the right information. They have information, but not the right information about their sexual and reproductive health. So for us, it's also a priority that young people are informed, that they can make informed decisions. The other priority is linked to the first. It is to increase the commitment of the authorities and governments to take sexual and reproductive health into account in their agendas, and to have them acknowledge that it is a priority, and a public health issue.

Aude: We have invited decision-makers to the festival because we want concrete measures in the fight against period poverty. We’ll share a glimpse of what has been done during the festival while demanding more.

At Eyala we often ask this question to our interviewees: what is your feminist life motto? It can be a thought, a phrase, a quote, or anything that inspires you as a feminist.

Salématou: I’d say my motto changes because I have several. First, I believe every girl and every woman must have access to their rights regarding sexual and reproductive health. My other motto would be love because we need love, sisterhood, and intersectionality. We need to address these jointly. We live in a world that’s undoubtedly evolving, but is it moving in line with our beliefs? Is it moving according to what we want? We need to move together. I believe in sisterhood, listening, empathy, respect, kindness, and open-mindedness. And for me, love encompasses all of that. Love makes us strong. Love makes us powerful and makes us thrive.

Exactly. Our movements need so much love and sisterhood, especially now with everything happening in the world. I don’t think we can succeed without love and benevolence.

Salématou: Exactly and we’re the ones who have to build them.

What about you Aude?

Aude: As a feminist, mine is “My body, my choice”. I think that as women, we must be free to make our own decisions about our bodies because they belong to us first and foremost. We aim to dismantle this system that imposes on women what society wants. So my motto as a feminist is “My body, my choice”.

This is my biggest wish for every woman: that we all belong to ourselves fully. Many thanks to you both. This was a great conversation. We wish you the very best with the Mes Menstrues Libres festival.

Stay Updated on the festival!

Follow updates from this year’s festival on Facebook and amplify the awesome work done by the organizers.

You can also connect with Aude et Salématou.

Afrifem in Action : Bénédicte Bailou Presents Femin-In, a feminist movement promoting the participation of young women in politics (Burkina Faso)

Our Afrifem in Action series highlights the important initiatives, movements, and content that are created by and for African feminists. In this interview, Chanceline Mevowanou speaks with Bénédicte Bailou, a feminist lawyer from Burkina Faso, founder and CEO of Femin-In, a feminist movement working on engaging more young women in politics. 

Hello Bénédicte, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Could you introduce yourself? 

My name is Bénédicte Bailou. I am a lawyer specialising in women’s rights and gender-based violence (GBV). I am from Burkina Faso, and I live in Ouagadougou.  I’m the CEO of Fémin-In, a feminist and youth organisation in Burkina Faso. I’m also an appointed representative of the Burkinabè transitional legislative assembly [Assemblée Législative de Transition (ALT)] on behalf of women’s civil society organizations at the national level.

Congratulations on this appointment. Could you briefly explain what being a representative of the transitional government entails? 

A representative of the transitional government is like a Member of Parliament. The main difference is that we’re not elected but appointed by our constituents. I am the representative of women's civil society organisations nationwide. So, members of society appoint people to sit in the transitional legislative assembly, uphold the Constitution and its authority, and assist the President and the government in the resolution of the issues we are currently facing in Burkina Faso.

What does being a feminist mean to you, Bénédicte?  

For me being a feminist is to be rebellious. To be outraged by the patriarchy, a system of oppression against women based on a presumed natural supremacy of men over women. So, I am a rebellious person. I am against every social relationship that puts women in a subordinate position. For me, this is what it means to be a feminist.

Earlier when you introduced yourself, you said you were the CEO of Fémin-In, a feminist youth organisation in Burkina Faso. What does the name Fémin-In mean?

The main objective that led to the creation of the movement is the promotion of the participation of young women in politics in general and the promotion of the civic participation of young women. So, Fémin-in is made of “Fémin” for “women” and “In” is for “involvement”. To say “Women involved in… politics.”

What prompted you to create Femin-in?

The concept of Fémin-In came in early 2017 after I completed a female leadership training. The program allowed me to determine what I wanted to do and made me see the vision I had for my life and what I could do for my community. Then, I met our current general secretary at a forum, and we brainstormed together. We’re often told that young women aren’t engaged enough in politics. This is however not true. There is this presumed incompetence automatically attributed to women when they get promoted. To overcome this, and to stop hearing that women are incompetent, we decided to offer them political education. We educate ourselves too, because we are politically ambitious in this country. This is what prompted the creation of Fémin-In. 

This is inspiring. How did Fémin-In begin to act to engage more young women in politics?

Fémin-In was launched in 2019 after the concept phase. We are legally registered since November 6th, 2019. Before that, we worked without a legal status. But our reality forced us to opt for legal registration. We started by implementing an incubation program that provides a one-year training for young girls who aspire to get involved in politics. For the launch, we got in touch with a sister who also works to promote young women’s political engagement. She advised us and showed us how to take action. This is how we launched the program.

How does the program work, concretely? 

We start with a call for applications for young girls and young women aged 18 to 35. When the recruitment is over, we have the first round of interviews and then practical training. Since we do not have funding for this program, we reach out to trainers who believe in empowering young girls and who embrace Fémin-In’s vision. Once we reach out, we ask them to give some of their time for the program and the training sessions. In the program, participants are trained in speech writing, political communication, and analysis of candidates' political agendas. We work on Saturdays and online. because some of our participants aren’t based in Ouagadougou.

At the end of the incubation program, are there any follow-up activities with the participants?

Yes, we follow up on the participants. During the incubation phase, we have a mentorship program. We connect our young participants with men and women involved in politics, to give them an opportunity to see the reality of how things work.. It’s pointless to train people and then leave them on their own. The mentoring program is part of our follow-up process. We also offer fieldwork, like visiting municipalities, or the Parliament to allow the girls to have an insight into how these spaces work. For the first edition of the incubation program, we worked with fifteen young women, because we feel that fifteen is a number that can be followed up after the program. The follow-up can be done over five years. Our goal is to work with a small number of people but to have tangible results.

In 2021, we were supposed to have municipal and legislative elections. We had trainees from our program who wanted to run in these elections. Some of them had joined political parties and wanted to contest in these elections as candidates. Unfortunately, the political situation in our country became problematic and the elections were canceled. They could not contest.

Very interesting to know. How many editions of this program have you completed?

The 2021 edition was our first. We're in the process of restructuring the program. We realized that one year is too much for the girls. We are reviewing the format and will relaunch it this 2023. The year 2022 was for figuring out solutions to the shortcomings of the first edition.

What challenges did you face in implementing this program?

Fémin-In is a feminist organisation. From the get-go, we set that tone. Fémin-In is feminist, Bénédicte is a feminist, and all those involved in Fémin-In are feminists as well. So, our first challenge was how our society understands and accepts the word “Feminist”. We were attacked and bullied online. We still experience that, but we are unfortunately, used to it. It’s not new anymore.

The second challenge was women’s involvement. Why do we want women to get involved? Why do we want them to occupy leadership positions? Why must women be present in decision-making circles? Women in political parties traditionally oversee mobilization, catering, and treasury. This was the second challenge: making society accept that women must participate, have their say, and their part to play in the development of Burkina Faso.

To overcome these challenges and for the implementation of the program in general, did you have support from older women who are already in the political arena in Burkina?

Generally speaking, yes... Some were not available to assist us, because they felt that the idea should have come from them. But in the large amount of support that we've had, these women are drops in the bucket of support that we've received. We've had a lot of women who have supported us, a lot of female predecessors who have carried us along, who have introduced us to great people, and who have been mentors to our participants.

How do you think intergenerational collaboration can help further the work of political and civic participation of young women that Fémin-In does?

Intergenerational collaboration is a beautiful thing. It is important because it allows the young people, the younger ones, to see and know some realities and also to avoid making the mistakes that these predecessors made. But I believe our main issue in getting our predecessors’ support is communication.

They don't necessarily see things as we do. Some of them still see things through the prism of post-colonization. I mean independence, the realities of independence. However, today, the opening to the world that the African States offer us provides us with opportunities that they, unfortunately, did not have. And these opportunities, even if there are hardships in them, place us in a position that makes them say "they did not struggle". But it is important to discuss and work with them.  

In the feminist movement in Burkina Faso, how do you think collaborations with female predecessors are going?

The problem in Burkina Faso is that there are not many women who call themselves feminists. They call themselves defenders of women's rights, but they do not call themselves "feminists". So unfortunately, it’s impossible to interact with someone who refuses to even use feminist terminology... the word “Feminism”. It is difficult. Few of them refer to themselves as feminists. I have one person in mind. Someone I know personally who supports feminist organizations; her name is Monique Ilboudo. She was a Minister of Human Rights here in Burkina Faso and is a Law professor at the university. She is also a writer who has written many books. She is an outspoken feminist. There is also Mariam Lamizana who fights against female genital mutilation. She also calls herself a feminist. They have participated in the shifting of the laws here. It’s easier to start a conversation with them…

What are the other activities that Fémin-In implements, apart from the program for the political involvement of young women?

After the program for the promotion of young women's political engagement, Fémin-In started by organizing campaigns to raise awareness about gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health. We advocate, train, and document. In West Africa, we lack real and recent data on sexual and reproductive health. We conduct numerous studies, like studies on the availability of sexual and reproductive health resources for youth, adolescents and minority groups. Fémin-In also carries out a rehabilitation program for victims and survivors of violence against women. We have set up a legal and psychological clinic that provides legal and automatic psychological assistance to girls and women victims of violence.

The psychological support is great. We really need it.

Yes, because unfortunately, the state bodies do not automatically take into account the psychological aspect. Even civil society organizations do not prioritise this when a woman or girl is a victim of violence. We also have the social aspect that we put in motion when the survivor does not have the income to take care of herself. For example, we set up an income-generating activity for her. Our support is holistic.

Fémin-In also does feminist education. We are a feminist organization, and we believe that the more feminists there are in Burkina Faso, the more the issues that women and girls experience can be solved. We educate the population in general and more specifically girls and women about feminism, understanding what it is, and becoming feminists. 

Does the work you do with Femin-In for women's political participation have an impact on you?

Yes, absolutely. Because I like to say that I too need to be trained. I used to be a trainee too. Because I needed it, and others also needed it. When we validated our mandate, we had to elect the president of the TLA. I wanted to run in this election as a candidate for president of the TLA for two reasons. 

For the younger women, because we are talking about representation, never in Burkina Faso has a woman been a candidate for the election of the president of the assembly. So, in the collective conscience, society thinks that only a man can be in this position. I ran to show that women could also hold this position. The second reason was also to say that women can do it, are doing it...and will do it in the future. We are capable. Young women are involved, they are committed enough, and competent enough to hold these leadership positions. The incubation program training has helped me a lot in doing that. 

What are your plans for Fémin-In for the coming years and what do you need to achieve these ambitions?

Fémin-In's ambition is to train as many women as possible, as many young women as possible, to be assertive and confident, and to occupy positions of responsibility. I want them to know that today or in five years, they can be candidates or voters, and that if they decide not to run as candidates, they can judge the political programs of those who run. We will no longer vote for someone because they’re from our village. We are not going to vote for someone because they speak well or are eloquent. No. Our vote will be based on their plans for the society. What is the place of women in this program? What place does education have? That's what we want to achieve. That's what we want to have. We want to train women to be politicians and to see politics differently. That is Fémin-in’s primary ambition.

The second ambition is to become and serve as the feminist organization of reference in Burkina Faso and the sub-region because we believe that feminism is political. We know that it is by having a feminist approach to the issues we face that we will get sustainable solutions. 

To do so, Fémin-In needs technical capacity building on many themes and funding to be able to implement our programs. The incubation program does not yet have funding.

Where can we follow Fémin-In now?

Our website is under construction. In the meantime, we can be found on Facebook and Twitter. 

Thank you Bénédicte. We hope the work of Fémin-In reaches more people in the future.

Connect with Femin-In

Wondering how you can learn, support or amplify the work of Femin-In? Connect with them on Twitter et Facebook. You can also follow Bénédicte on Twitter.

Afrifem in Action: Shining A Spotlight on OluTimehin Kukoyi and THS GRLS (Nigeria)

Our Afrifem in Action interviews highlight the important initiatives, movements, and content that are created by and for African feminists. In this conversation, we speak to OluTimehin Kukoyi, a queer feminist writer from Nigeria who has recently launched a newsletter with the THS GRLS collective.

Hello Timehin, thank you for speaking with us. Can you briefly introduce yourself? 

Hello, thanks for having me! I’m a Yoruba-Itsekiri woman born and raised in Lagos, living in the non-traditional, all-female household of my dreams. Currently, I describe myself as a writer in transition. I spent most of the last decade writing extensively about gender, sexuality and class, with a focus on exposing structural injustice around these issues. Now, I’m taking a bit of a break to reorient myself. This is because I’m learning how to move towards what I want to see, rather than my work being primarily about resistance. 

You recently convened a feminist group called THS GRLS. Please tell us more about it. How did this collective come to be? 

THS GRLS is the early form of a need I’ve had for a long time, which is to be part of an explicitly queer feminist group based in Nigeria which focuses on education and community. The central idea is to engage with feminist knowledge in an accessible and actionable way, connect intentionally with older feminists and African feminist institutions, and hopefully broaden what it means to be a (young) African feminist beyond saviourism, reactionary politics, or the idea that what men have is what we want. 

The name THS GRLS (pronounced Those Girls) comes from a 2018 essay I wrote titled “There They Are, Those Girls.” The essay is specifically about coming into my own as a queer person, but what it means to be one of those girls more broadly is to be someone who belongs entirely to oneself. The way I see it, in order to belong to yourself in a patriarchal society, you have to know yourself and be willing to stand apart from the crowd. You have to be secure in who you are and the people you are in community with. Most importantly, you have to be willing to be transformed such that your example transforms others too.

And what would you say is the mission for THS GRLS?

At THS GRLS, our mission is to build collective power and liberation, without discrimination, for African women and LGBTQ+ people through community, advocacy and solidarity. We spent a lot of time thinking about how to word this mission clearly and simply, and now we’re spending more time thinking about the strategies we will use to bring it to life beyond our Founding Membership. As we slowly shape this initiative, we see ourselves as the first beneficiaries of our work. What this means is that we practice everything we believe to the best of our ability amongst ourselves, giving the care, solidarity and support that we plan to offer our future community to one another now. We do everything with the awareness that we cannot serve an imaginary other in the future without serving the very real people who are part of THS GRLS today.

For those who find our mission resonant and seek to join us, to be one of THS GRLS is to own your power and use it in generative, liberatory ways. It is to accept that because progress is created by building safe and well-resourced communities, no one changes anything alone. It is also committing to deep learning that helps us understand the intersecting systems that we are up against, not simply to resist them, but to subvert and delegitimise their hold over us. THS GRLS is about being ready to create a new reality by starting from the margins, and to cultivate the kind of trust that keeps all people safe not because we are perfect, but because we are committed to such safety.

How does the THS GRLS collective want to create more space for women and gender expansive people to be free? What does freedom for women and gender expansive people look like to you? 

Our strategies are still unfolding, even to us. Our first commitment is to be actively and intentionally connected to those who are already succeeding at creating freedom for women and gender-expansive people. We’re in talks with a couple of feminist organisations that we respect, and also identifying queer and other collectives that we can exchange knowledge and resources with. Part of the original dream is also to create guides, toolkits and other tools that people can rely on to create autonomous THS GRLS chapters, as well as to have in-person gatherings that allow people to sharpen their political consciousness and build solidarity through relationships. 

I think freedom is born from pre-existing freedom. When people discover new possibilities through the life or work of others, it absolutely makes a difference. I am freer today because I once sat in a circle of queer Black women who lived into their personal freedom, and their stories gave me the key to discover my own self. I have better language to describe my dreams and realities because I spent years reading people like Trudy of Gradient Lair and Oyeronke Oyewumi of CUNY who wrote into their intellectual freedom. I have more space to be myself thanks to women like Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi of AWDF, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah of Adventures [from the Bedrooms of African Women] and Charmaine Pereira of Feminist Africa who built communities of power and care. My hope is that THS GRLS will, by its example, create such portals into freedom for other people.

To me, freedom for women and gender-expansive people looks like the presence of love, dignity and the resources to live a fulfilling life. It looks like the absence of violence both grave and gratuitous. Mostly, it looks like abundant space to be who we are, as we are.

Can you tell us more about the THS GRLS newsletter and what it’s going to look like? 

The THS GRLS newsletter is our first offering. It will focus on bringing accessible and actionable queer feminist knowledge to people who are interested in it. We’re using a newsletter model because THS GRLS isn’t a media company and we’re not looking for interest from the general public. What we want is for people to opt in to the experience; we want to know that even if only five people read us, those five people want to read us. 

Our plan for the newsletter is for it to be written by most of our Founding Members and a few guest writers and published on a biweekly basis. We’re taking a low-frequency approach because we want to give our writers time to create good work and our readers time to ruminate on what they receive from us. I’m really excited about the newsletter because I’m both a queer feminist and a nerd, and knowledge always makes me happy.

Let’s talk more about your personal connection with this initiative. How has your work on the newsletter and with THS GRLS impacted you as an African woman and as a feminist?

Well, we’re still very much in our gestation phase, so my answer to this isn’t as robust as it might be in, say, one year. However, I’ve been really affirmed by the fact that people have not only joined, but have stayed part of our Founding Membership simply because they believe in this idea. I sat on it for years because I was thinking of myself as a dreamer rather than a doer, so to find myself slowly becoming a doer is a fantastic experience.

What is one lesson that you have learned during this process that you would like to share with other African feminists? 

Choose community first. Everything else will follow.

How can the Eyala community access the newsletter when it comes out? How can we participate in the work of THS GRLS in general?  

I’d be thrilled to share our announcement with you! We recently put out the subscription link and we plan to publish in a week or so . There will be plenty of time to subscribe and spread the word before we start writing to our community and engaging with the responses, critiques and other feedback they provide. For now, you can find us on Instagram and Twitter.

Let’s finish with our favourite final question: what is your feminist life motto? 

Oh, I don’t actually have one. But if I did, it would be about love, power and the necessity of building freedom by telling the truth to one another.

Find out more, support & connect

For more information on THS GRLS, follow their social media pages on Twitter and Instagram.

Interested in the newsletter? Subscribe here and be the first to read it when the first issue drops.

“We must channel all our anger into taking action to safeguard existing abortion rights” - Dr Satang Nabaneh (The Gambia )

By Jama Jack

A recent leak has revealed plans by the Supreme Court of the United States of America (SCOTUS) to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade decision, which provided guarantees for federal constitutional protections for abortion rights in the country. Rightful outrage has followed this leak, with calls for resistance to ensure that abortion rights remain accessible for all birthing persons everywhere.  

While this development directly affects the USA, the consequences on abortion rights and wider sexual and reproductive rights in the international community are evident. 

We spoke with Dr Satang Nabaneh, feminist scholar and activist from The Gambia on this new development. Satang has done extensive research on abortion rights in Africa and has also been involved in movement-building and policy advocacy in this area. We discuss what the SCOTUS decision would mean for African countries, and the actions that African feminists can take. Here’s our short interview.

Hello Satang! Thank you for accepting our invitation to speak on this important issue. Could you briefly tell our community who you are and what you do? 

My name is Satang Nabaneh. I am originally from The Gambia, and I currently live in the USA. I am a proud African feminist scholar and activist trying to bridge the worlds of theory and practice. My feminist work through activism, action-oriented research, and equitable knowledge production on diverse issues as part of ongoing collective efforts, is broadly geared towards challenging gender and other intersecting inequalities.

Tell me a bit about your work on abortion rights. What drove you to this path and what has that journey looked like so far? 

I was born and raised in a predominantly Muslim society in The Gambia, where abortion is highly restricted. While religion plays an instrumental role in my life, I identify as a feminist with strong pro-choice views with a dedicated record of advocacy for bodily autonomy, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality throughout my life. This has fuelled my interest in co-convening the Sexual Reproductive Rights Network, hosted by Think Young Women, a young women-led feminist organisation I co-founded in The Gambia. 

Because of my longstanding desire to contribute to advancing reproductive and social justice, I have advocated for and conducted research that aims to uncover how laws, politics, socio-cultural and institutional factors affect sexual health and rights in Africa. At the University of Pretoria, I carried out socio-legal feminist research for my Ph.D. thesis and a forthcoming book on abortion and conscientious objection in South Africa. I have also managed various academic projects on human rights, gender, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. I was responsible for providing technical support to the African Union’s Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, undertaking advocacy for the implementation of the Maputo Protocol, and training African governments and civil society on the African human rights systems.

At the international, regional, and national levels, my activism and research have been distinctly focused on interrogating and developing insights into political and legal determinants as part of a broader discourse on sexual and reproductive rights related to the African region.

‘‘While religion plays an instrumental role in my life, I identify as a feminist with strong pro-choice views…”

Recently, we saw news of a leaked document from the SCOTUS showing plans to strike down Roe V Wade. What are your initial thoughts on this development? 

The leaked documents suggest that the US Supreme Court may overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade decision. Not if, but when this happens, it will constitute a blatant violation of international human rights treaties that the US has ratified. Birthing persons should not be forced to carry pregnancies to term. It marks a dangerous departure from international human rights standards and a strong political move signalling a conservative position towards abortion rights. This will exacerbate international and national opposition to sexual and reproductive services such as abortion, family planning, and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE).

This is currently happening in the USA, but there have been signals raised around how the impact will be felt around the world. What repercussions can we expect to see as the ripple effect, and what would this mean for birthing persons in African countries?

Due to US power and influence, what is currently happening would likely result in significant threats to the right to abortion for the rest of the world, including Africa. Despite the commitment to advancing abortion access, this will signal the US’ position, especially if Republicans gain more power, which will likely impact US funding and policies. We have seen the implications of the global gag rule, under which non-US organisations that receive US funding couldn’t provide, refer to, or promote abortion. President Biden rescinded this anti-abortion rule when he took office in 2021. 

It is important to note that there have been significant African regional developments and domestic reforms culminating in at least more than half of the African countries now permitting abortion on the ground of the woman’s health. The 2003 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) is one of the most comprehensive and progressive women’s human rights instruments adopted by the African Union (AU)  and has been ratified by 42 member states. There is evidence showing that African countries are making gains in improving legislation and policies due to sustained advocacy, especially toward the liberalisation of abortion law, thereby expanding the grounds of rape, incest, and danger to foetal health or life.

And would this be enough to counter the ripple effect from what happens in the US?

The envisaged reversal of the gains made with Roe v Wade means a negative precedent set for the international community. We have seen the rise of the anti-choice movement activities and visibility in the continent linked to ultra-conservative actors based in the Global North. These locally based organisations in Africa are provided funding, have affiliations with Western actors by setting up satellite offices or regional chapters, and do joint campaigning and other collective strategies. 

For example, the arguments made in the burial of foetal remains case in South Africa, Voice of the Unborn Baby NPC and the Catholic Archdiocese of Durban v Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Health are similar to arguments made in the 2019 Box v Planned Parenthood. In this case, the US Supreme Court decided to uphold the constitutionality of the Indiana abortion law that mandates any clinician or facility providing abortion services to bury or cremate foetal remains rather than disposing of them as medical waste.

I was recently part of a team of scholars and activists who conducted a commissioned mapping in 2020 and early 2021 of mobilisation against sexual and reproductive rights in three countries: Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. We sought to understand the transnational nature of such lobbying, the discourses primarily drawn upon, and the impact on public debate and the legal, political, and educational spheres in the three countries. We discovered how the ultra-conservative NGOs have not only co-opted the human rights discourse, but there are clear linkages between North American organisations, describing themselves as ‘pro-family’ and like-minded locally based groups in the African continent.

Over the years, we have also seen how African government representatives at the UN have been more conservative leaning. For example, member states of the African Group have opposed various resolutions related to issues of comprehensive sexuality education and sexual orientation and gender identity. This is not surprising as conservative organisations not only have strong collaborations with anti-rights actors in Africa but also do a focused UN-based advocacy targeting representatives from Africa.

In essence, I see a more evident ‘political threat’ for many African countries, including countries like South Africa with robust legislation, and perhaps a legal threat for African countries that want to push for more conservative legislation restricting abortion access.

While there has been a lot of outrage (rightfully!), there have also been expressions of hope that we can fight this. What can be done, really? How do you think African feminists can organise around actions to protect abortion rights?

We must channel all our anger into taking action to safeguard existing abortion rights and prevent backsliding. African feminists should continue to counter-mobilise and respond to the backlash and continued efforts to chip away at hard-won rights in Africa. Despite not being monolithic, there is a need for more unified action by pro-SRR networks. Given the agility and presence of a strong anti-SRR movement, we should not ignore global trends. In the era of increasing politics of masculinist restoration, authoritarian governance, the rise of populism, and white supremacy, we need to be strategic. We should leverage intersectional organising as a strategy that builds solidarity across issues, organisations, and communities. There is power in collective action!

Indeed! We can’t let you go without asking our standard Eyala question. What is your feminist life motto?

I have recently adopted “Rolling eyes = feminist pedagogy”  from the book Living a Feminist Life by Sara Ahmed. Sara remind us that eye rolling is a feminist killjoy strategy; a shared language we speak to other feminists about opinions in public spaces. 

I feel that very deeply! I think we’re all rolling our eyes at the Supreme Court for this decision. It’s been great to get your insights, Satang. Thank you for making time to share with us.

Additional Resources

Satang Nabaneh, The Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Africa, Völkerrechtsblog, 09.03.2022, doi: 10.17176/20220309-120935-0.

Satang Nabaneh, ‘The Gambia’s Political Transition to Democracy: Is Abortion Reform Possible?’ (December 2019) 21(2) Health and Human Rights Journal 167-179.

Satang Nabaneh, ‘Abortion and ‘conscientious objection’ in South Africa: The need for regulation’ in E Durojaye, G Mirugi-Mukundi & C Ngwena (eds) Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa: Constraints and Opportunities (Routledge, 2021) 16-34.

Join the conversation!

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Let us know in the comments below, or let’s chat on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram @EyalaBlog.

Want to connect with Satang? Follow her on Twitter @DrSatangNabaneh