FATIMA MERNISSI (1940-2015) was a Moroccan sociologist and writer. Born in Fez to a middle-class family, Mernissi studied at the Mohammed V University in Rabat and later went to Paris, where she worked briefly as a journalist. She pursued her graduate education in the United States and in 1973 obtained a PhD in sociology from Brandeis University. Returning to Morocco, she joined the sociology department at Mohammed V University, where she long lectured while also holding a research appointment at the Moroccan Institut Universitaire de Recherche Scientifique, also in Rabat.

As one of the best known Arab-Muslim feminists, Mernissi 's influence extends beyond a narrow circle of intellectuals. She is a recognized public figure in her own country and abroad, especially in France, where she is well known in feminist circles. Her major books have been translated into several languages, including English, German, Dutch, and Japanese. She writes regularly on women's issues in the popular press, participates in public debates promoting the cause of Muslim women internationally, and has supervised the publication of a series of books on the legal status of women in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

Mernissi 's work explores the relationship between sexual ideology, gender identity, sociopolitical organization, and the status of women in Islam; her special focus, however, is Moroccan society and culture. As a feminist, her work represents an attempt to undermine the ideological and political systems that silence and oppress Muslim women. She does this in two ways: first, by challenging the dominant Muslim male discourse concerning women and their sexuality, and second, by providing the “silent” woman with a “voice” to tell her own story.

The Forgotten Queens of Islam, Translated by Mary Jo Lakeland was published by Cambridge, U.K., 1993.

KENZA BENABDERRAZIK is a lecturer and researcher whose work addresses food and agricultural systems transformations. Currently based at ETH Zürich (Switzerland), her research focuses on the resilience of producers in the face of climate change in Morocco and Ghana. She particularly enjoys learning and exploring ways to inspire sustainable change. Kenza grew up in Morocco and maintains a strong link with the country and its environmental dynamics.

"The Forgotten Queens Of Islam" By Fatima Mernissi Read By Kenza Benabderrazik (Morocco)

WENDY APPENTENG DANIELS is an Italo-Ghanaian based in London. She is currently studying for an MSc in International, Social and Public Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE). She likes to define herself as "coherently random" and is passionate about interdisciplinary conversations. She is currently researching how Ghanaian diasporic groups can contribute towards the improvement of education policies in the motherland. Just ike the main character in Ama Ata Aidoo's "Changes," Wendy's Akan name is also Esi.

"Changes" By Ama Ata Aidoo Read By Wendy Appenteng Daniels (Ghana)

SARA FARAH is a student, actor and writer who grew up in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Her parents lost their home due to the Somali civil war, so like many other second-generation immigrants, she says, she has an unusual relationship with her culture and country of origin. “My image of my country is of a Frankenstein’s monster, an amalgam of second-hand ideas and stories. The Somalia I know is the memory of the Somalia of the 70s carried here to the shores of Britain.” Sara prefers to write fantasy and science fiction but, she says, “something about the way many second-generation immigrants write about their countries of origin frustrated me. So I decided to write about my country of origin in a way that is truthful to me.”

NURA ABDI is a copywriter, podcaster, lover of obscure internet memes and avid TikTok viewer. The child of Somali parents, she spent the better part of her life moving from country to country until she returned to the African continent. Now, her love for Africa and African people is leading her down a path of rediscovering what it means to be an African, a feminist and a baby socialist.

"Somalia, 1972" By Sara Farah Read By Nura Abdi (Somalia)

AMMA DARKO (1956) is a Ghanaian 🇬🇭 novelist whose works, often with a female protagonist, have made a significant impact at home and abroad. They include Beyond the Horizon (1995), Faceless (1996) and Between Two Worlds (2015).

JEIFA TACKIE is a civil servant. She graduated from the University of Ghana for both her first and second degrees, a BSc in Administration and an MBA in Finance respectively. She is a Ghanaian Bookstagrammer who loves to read, review and discuss books on her Instagram page. She loves to take pictures of books. When not reading, she enjoys listening to music or watching movies. Her favourite authors are Danielle Steel and Elif Shafak. Her favourite current read is Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson.

"Beyond the Horizon" By Amma Darko Read By Jeifa Tackie (Ghana)

AMA ATA AIDOO (March 23, 1942) is a Ghanaian writer whose work emphasises the paradoxical position of the modern African woman. She began to write seriously while an honours student at the University of Ghana and won early recognition with the play, The Dilemma of a Ghost (1965), in which a Ghanaian student returning home brings his African American wife into the traditional culture and the extended family that he now finds restrictive. Their dilemma reflects Aidoo’s characteristic concern with the “been-to,” voiced again in her semi-autobiographical experimental first novel, Our Sister Killjoy; or, Reflections from a Black-Eyed Squint (1966). Aidoo herself won a fellowship to Stanford University in California, returned to teach at Cape Coast, Ghana (1970–82), and subsequently accepted various visiting professorships in the United States and Kenya. In No Sweetness Here (1970), a collection of short stories, Aidoo exercised the oral element of storytelling, writing tales that are meant to be read aloud. These stories and Anowa (1970), another problem play, are concerned with Western influences on the role of women and on the individual in a communal society. In 1982–83 she served as Ghana’s minister of education. Her books include Someone Talking to Sometime, a collection of poetry, The Eagle and the Chickens (1986; a collection of children’s stories), Birds and Other Poems (1987), the novel Changes: A Love Story (1991), An Angry Letter in January and Other Poems (1992), The Girl Who Can and Other Stories (1997), and Diplomatic Pounds and Other Stories (2012).

ROXANNE BOUGSIN KOFFI is a life coach, mental health advocate, dance instructor and creative. She is the founder of "Dance 4 Mental Health," an initiative that promotes awareness and education on mental wellness through dance and creative arts. She loves helping women find their purpose through healing, being, loving and honouring their authentic Selves, and enjoys reading,  exploring other cultures, and creating.

"Changes" By Ama Ata Aidoo Read By Roxanne Bougsin Koffi

ADELAIDE CASELY-HAYFORD (2 June 1868 – 24 January 1960), was a Sierra Leone Creole advocate, an activist for cultural nationalism, educator, short story writer, and feminist. She was born to an elite family in Freetown, British Sierra Leone, to a mixed-race father (William Smith Jr, of English and royal Fanti parentage) from the Gold Coast and a Creole mother, Anne Spilsbury, of English, Jamaican Maroon, and Sierra Leone Liberated African ancestry. Casely-Hayford was committed to public service and worked to improve the conditions of black men and women. As a pioneer of women's education in Sierra Leone, she played a key role in popularizing Pan-Africanist and feminist politics during the early nineteen hundreds. She established a school for girls in 1923 called Girl's Vocational and Training School in Freetown, to instill cultural and racial pride for Sierra Leoneans during the years of colonial rule. Promoting the preservation of Sierra Leone national identity and cultural heritage, in 1925 she wore a traditional African costume to attend a reception in honor of the Prince of Wales, where she created a sensation.

AEKUA BOBSON is a doctoral candidate at the Department of English at the University of Ghana. She runs women's book clubs.

"The Life & Times Of Adelaide Casely-Hayford" By Adelaide Casely-Hayford Read By Akua Bobson (Ghana)

OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE (born 1988) is a Nigerian-British novelist and writer. She was born in Lagos and spent her childhood in both Nigeria and the UK. Her debut novel, "My Sister, the Serial Killer," was published in 2018 to wide acclaim.

TOBILOBA AKIBO has a first degree in Architecture from Covenant University and a Master of Science in Landscape Architecture from the University of Lagos. She has extensive experience in private residential landscaping and garden design. She is committed to landscape ecology and conservation, with a specific interest in exploring historic landscape preservation and the evolution of landscape architecture styles within open spaces in post-colonial Nigeria. A registered member of the Society of Landscape Architects in Nigeria, she currently practices in Lagos, Nigeria, where she runs a landscaping firm, Foliage by Tobiloba.

"My Sister The Serial Killer" By Oyinkan Braithwaite Read By Tobiloba Akibo

BUCHI EMECHETA was a Nigerian-born novelist, based in the UK from 1962, who also wrote plays and an autobiography, as well as works for children. She was the author of more than 20 books, including Second Class Citizen(1974), The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977) and The Joys of Motherhood (1979).

UDE UGO ANNA is an essayist and student of English at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. She runs a bookdrive to donate books to children in coastal communities and shares her thoughts on African Literature on Instagram @gushing_torrents.

"Head Above Water" By Buchi Emecheta Read By Ude Ugo Anna (Nigeria)

AYESHA HARRUNA ATTAH is the author of five novels: Saturday’s Shadow, Harmattan Rain, The Hundred Wells of Salaga, The Deep Blue Between, and the forthcoming, Zainab Takes New York. Educated at Mount Holyoke College, Columbia University, and NYU, she holds degrees in Biochemistry, Journalism, and Creative Writing. A 2015 Africa Centre Artists in Residency Award Laureate and Sacatar Fellow, she is the recipient of the 2016 Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship for non-fiction.

DORCAS TIWAA ADDAI is a nature lover, literary enthusiast, and a lover of African history. Her day job involves the research, promotion, and protection of human rights issues in Ghana.

"Saturday's Shadow" By Ayesha Haruna Attah Read By Dorcas Tiwaa Addai (Ghana)

"Serwa Akoto's Diary" By Asabea Ashun Read By Afya Kisiwaa (Ghana)

Library. Literary Salon. Literature House.

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