When asked to name some notable feminist icons, one can almost accurately predict the names that will pop up: Audre Lorde, Bell Hooks, Catherine MacKinnon, Angela Davis, perhaps even the odd Beyonce. Rarely are African feminists celebrated among the world’s feminist icons. However, from the times of Yaa Asantewaa in 19th century Ghana to Chimamanda Adichie of present-day Nigeria, several African feminists have contributed immensely to women’s rights activism and they deserve to be celebrated. Here are 5 African feminists you should know!

  1. Ifi Amadiume

Ifi Amadiume is a Nigerian poet and anthropologist most popularly known for her book “Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society”. Amadiume posited that hegemonic gender identities are Western constructs imposed by colonialism. Her research was ground-breaking and completely changed the way sex and gender was viewed in West Africa. Along with “Male Daughters and Female Husbands”, Amadiume has published several other books and essays on gender, social justice, African matriarchal societies as well as many creative works.

  • Stella Nyanzi

Stella Nyanzi is a Ugandan feminist and queer rights activist who’s well known and infamous in other circles for her “radical rudeness”; an activism strategy which involves ridiculing authorities through insult. In 2017, she was arrested in Uganda for a poem in which she referred to the Ugandan president Museveni as “a pair of buttocks”. Nyanzi’s braveness has been widely celebrated by the east African feminist community as well as the international press. Nyanzi constantly defies backlash and advocates for LGTQ+ rights.

  • Ama Atta Aidoo

Ama Atta Aidoo; one of Africa’s finest writers is a Ghanaian playwright, author and feminist. Like many African female authors who explore feminism through literature, Ama Atta Aidoo often writes about the lives and experiences of women. For example, her award winning book “Changes” examines the complex position of the modern African woman in a society that’s still very much traditional. Ama Atta Aidoo established the “Mbaasem Foundation” to promote and support African women writers.  

  • Theo Sowa

Theo Sowa is a Ghanaian Writer and Human Rights activist who’s work focuses mainly on social development issues. She’s currently the CEO of the African Women’s Development Fund; a non-governmental organisation that specialises in social development with a special focus on children and women’s rights.

  • Dr. Sylvia Tamale

Dr. Sylvia Tamale is a Ugandan academic and feminist. Appointed as the first female dean of the Makerere faculty of law, Dr Tamale is passionate about feminist theory and its power to help understand oppressive structures and direct activism. Some of her publications include “When Hens Begin to Crow: Gender and Parliamentary Politics in Uganda”, “African Feminism: How Should We Change?” and “The Right to Culture and the culture of rights: A critical perspective on women’s sexual rights in Africa”. She’s a working member of the African Feminist Forum where she assists in refining strategies to advance women’s rights in Africa.