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)

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

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

In this month's Radio France Internationale's literature program, Africa: Stories in the 55, host Laura Angela Bagnetto speaks with Ayo Sogunro, the author of "The Wonderful Life of Senator Boniface and other Sorry Tales". The collection of short stories, primarily set in Lagos, capture the human spirit and the dance of death, power (or lack of it) and survival.

Follow on twitter: @LA_Bagnetto

Ayo Sogunro's poignant short story collection takes readers to the Nigerian 'Twilight Zone'

AfricaNow! November 1, 2017 Kenya’s Disputed Presidential Election, & African Art & Literature Across Generations

Summary—Topics and Guests: Kenya’s Disputed Presidential Election, & African Art & Literature Across Generations. Featuring Mr. Maina Kiai, co-director of InformAction of Kenya, former UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; and Ms. Deborah Stokes, Curator for Education, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.  

Topics and Guests: AfricaNow! begins by focusing on the disputed presidential election in Kenya which occurred on October 26 with low turnout, in which incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta has been declared the winner.  This followed the September 1 Kenyan Supreme Court nullification of the August 8 presidential election.  On September 1 Chief Justice David Maraga stated that the presidential election “was not conducted in accordance with the constitution… rendering the declared results invalid, null and void,” and ordered new election within 60 days.  Mr. Raila Odinga of National Super Alliance (NASA)—whose petition the Supreme Court decided in favor of—refused the date of new election and boycotted the process because the conditions which caused the nullification of the August 8 election were not addressed.  The opposition National Super Alliance says it rejects the re-run and has formed the National Resistance Movement to peacefully challenge the action.  The country remains tense and divided; reports from Kenya have put as high as 50 people have been killed since the annulled election of August.  Joining AfricaNow! from Nairobi to discuss the issues surrounding the disputed Kenyan presidential election is Mr. Maina Kiai. Mr. Maina Kiai is co-director of InformAction of Kenya.  Formerly Mr. Kiai was UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association appointed by the Human Rights Council.   Kenyan lawyer and human rights activist Mr. Kiai has worked in the human rights field for over 20 years: he is founder and founding Executive Director of the non-governmental organization Kenya Human Rights Commission.  He also served as Chairman of Kenya’s National Human Rights Commission (2003–2008), where he won a national reputation for his courageous and effective advocacy against official corruption, in support of political reform and against impunity following the post-election violence in 2008 in which thousands were killed.   

AfricaNow! also focuses on African art and literature across generations.  Often African art and literature is confined to certain periods, vantage points or subject matters.  The exhibit “Visionary: Viewpoints of Africa’s Arts” at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art seeks to broaden that perception.  Joining AfricaNow! to explore further the “Visionary: Viewpoints of Africa’s Arts” exhibit, and to discuss the "Children's Africana Book Awards" is Ms. Deborah Stokes, Curator for Education, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
  
Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC.  Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (Eastern).

AfricaNow! Nov. 1, 2017 Kenya’s Disputed Pres. Elec., & African Art & Literature Across Generations

Jackie Phamotse - Author and Business Woman on #GGW with Noluthando Zamathonti Mthonti about her new book BARE and #16DaysOfActivism. "In a country where people once struggled for intellectual emancipation, millennials now sell their souls for the next expensive garment or gadget" - BARE

RSA Author & Business Woman Jackie Phamotse On Girls Gone Wild With Thando Mthonti 03:12:2017

Welcome to Episode 3. Thank you everyone for liking and sharing the podcast on all social media platforms so far. Just like in previous episodes, I’ll start with the news section followed by an interview with Barbados/Nigeria/South Africa writer Yewande Omotoso from the side lines of Time of the Writer 2018.

African Literary Podcast Episode 3

African Literary Podcast Episode 6.
Welcome to the African Literary Podcast Episode 6. In this episode, tell give you news from the African literary scene since we last posted an episode. We give you news on awards to the books that are recently out or on their way both fiction and nonfiction. You will also find an interview of Pede Hollist featured on the second section of the Podcast.
We start by congratulating Magunga Williams who was awarded as Kenya’s Creative Writing Blog 2018 winner. We were in the same category and would like to say thank you to each and every one of those who voted for our blog JamesMurua.com.
Book Read: The One’s With Purpose by Nozizwe Cynthia Jele
When her sister, Fikile, dies fighting breast cancer, Anele has to ensure that the ceremonies and rituals preceding the burial are performed. Fikile’s husband, Thiza, is nowhere to be found. I loved it.
Prizes.
We talk about the winners and shortlists of a series of literary prizes that Africans are eligible in. They include the Caine Prize for African Writing, Short Story Day Africa, Brunel African Poetry Prize, Dylan Thomas Prize, Africana Book Award, South Africa’s The Sunday Times Literary Awards 2018 shortlists that encompass the Barry Ronge Prize (fiction) and the Alan Paton Award (Nonfiction) as well as the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
Books
Fiction.
Ghana: Ayesha Harruna Attah is the author of the new novel The Hundred Wells of Salaga published by Cassava Republic Press. 
Rwanda: My Name is Life a debut novel by Rwandan writer Karen Bugingo published by Imagine We.
Nonfiction.
Kenya: Joe Khamisi Kenya: Looters and Grabbers, 54 Years of Corruption and Plunder by the Elite, 1963-2017. Published by Jodey Publishers.
Nigeria: Writer and lawyer Dele Ogun will be launching A Fatherless People: The Secret Story of How the Nigerians Missed the Road to the Promised Land in Lagos, Nigeria on June 12th, 2018.
South Africa: Panashe Chigumadzi’s These Bones Will Rise Again from United Kingdom based publisher Indigo Press has been revealed.
South Africa: Born for Greatness: Biography of Frank Leepa  is written by his younger sister Mpho A. Leepa.
New covers
Nnedi Okorafor Binti trilogy Binti, Binti: Home, Binti: The Night Masquerade, come out as hardcover editions with original art by Greg Ruth and a foreword to Binti by the Broken Earth trilogy author N.K. Jemisin.
Zukiswa Wanner has unveiled new covers for her novels The Madams, Behind Every Successful Man, Men of The South and London Cape Town Joburg. The new books which are the first from the new publishing firm Paivapo Publishing were designed by Zimbabwe based designer Mushamisi Kahari.
Pede Hollist interview
Pede Hollist speaks about his book So The Path Does Not Die with a focus on how he breathed life into a female character as a man, researching on the American Dream, his membership of the African Literature Association and how the organisation helps African letters. 
He gives his impression of the Sierra Leone Literary Scene including the Sierra Leone Writers Series and the Sierra Leone writers do we need to be reading?
He also talks about his work as a Fulbright scholar in Sierra Leone and his opinion on the Caine Prize that was announced last week.

African Literary Podcast Episode 6

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Radio France Internationale est une radio publique d'information destinée à être écoutée ou lue dans le monde entier. Elle émet en français et dans la plupart des langues étrangères majeures.

Blogger and podcaster focused on African literature based in Nairobi, Kenya.

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