Black and Pan-African Women Who Changed the World Through Activism
July 31st marks Pan-African Women’s Day — a day set aside to honour and celebrate African women while pushing for gender equality across Africa. The annual day of commemoration was founded in 1962 after recommendations of the All African Women’s Conference (AAWC) — Conférence des femmes Africaine (CFA) that took place in July 1961, in Conakry, Guinea.
On this year’s Pan-African Women’s Day, we’re highlighting the women who are creating change in their communities through activism. On this day we acknowledge the African women around the world who have struggled and continue to do so for our liberation and freedoms from across the continent and the wider African diaspora. Uhuru.
1. Olive Morris (United Kingdom) 1952–1979
Olive Morris was a prominent Black-British icon who left behind an extraordinary legacy of anti-racism and anti-sexism activism in the UK. Morris was born in Jamaica and moved with her family to Brixton, South London — a predominantly African-Caribbean populated area. At age 16, she intervened in the arrest of a Nigerian diplomat for a parking offence in Brixton in 1969, but it was the rise of fascist groups like the National Front and police brutality during her formative years that motivated her to organize demonstrations and collectives to address system racism. She was a member of the British Black Panthers party in the late ’60s, and in 1973, Morris co-founded one of the UK’s first networks for Black women, the Brixton Black Women’s Group. Her life was tragically cut short by cancer at age 27 in 1979, but her legacy lives on. In 2011, the Olive Morris Memorial was set up to fund bursaries for young Black women.
2. Rugiatu Turay (Sierra Leone)
Rugiati knows first-hand the pain and degradation that comes with female gential mutilation in her native Sierra Leone, which is why she has campaigned tirelessly to advocate against the practice and support women’s and girls rights. She was only 12 when she and her three sisters and a female cousin were taken to an aunty to be cut. After fleeing to a Guinean camp during Sierra Leone’s civil war, she discovered women were still practicing FGM. In 2000, she decided to launch the Amazonian Initiative Movement with other women to prevent FGM among refugees- and now she’s on a mission to eliminate it across West Africa. She told German media outlet, Deutsche-Welle, “I decided [that] we needed to engage these people. They needed to know that we have run away from violence committed to us by people and we are now perpetuating that violence on us.” In 2020, she was awarded the German Theodor Theodor Haecker Prize for civil courage and political integrity.
3. Francia Marquez-Mina (Colombia)
“Today, we are raising our voices to say that we are defenders of life, of our territories, and defenders of the environment. And we as women, in a very specific way, have come into this life, have brought our children into this life, and we will continue to struggle to bring peace and liberty for our people.” These words from Francia Marquez-Mina (Upon receiving the Diakonia National Prize for the Defense of Human Rights in Colombia in 2015 ) define the important role that Black women have always played in the protection of their environment and communities. The 39 year-old is one of Colombia’s most important human rights and environmental activists, and is focused on protecting Afro-Colombiana and Indigenous communities in the Yolombo area of Bueno Aires against illegal mining activities and paramilitary groups that threaten those communities. One of her responses has been to mobilize other women to stand up to these groups, in defense of their communities. In January 2021, Marquez-Mina recently lobbied US Vice-President Kamala Harris, to address the plights of and advocate for her community.
4. Marielle Franco (Brazil) 1979–2018
Young, queer, Black and born and bred in one of Rio de Janiero’s largest favelas, Marielle Franco was one of Brazil’s most significant human right defenders and council women in living memory, in the country. During her 15 months in office, Franco introduced a series of bills which included subsidized childcare at night for working single mothers like herself. While she was known to champion causes in bettering the lives of Afro-Brazilians, the LGBT communities, better policing practices, healthcare and education, the uplift of Black womanhood was particularly central to her activism. In a 2017 interview with Brazil de Fato, she said: “To be a Black woman is to resist and survive at every moment… [they] look at our bodies and diminish us, checking to see if there are drugs or lice beneath our headwraps; they deny our existence.” Following a round-table in 2018 on young Black women and power structures ‘ Franco was assassinated in Rio De Janeiro.
1. Olive Morris (United Kingdom) 1952–1979
Olive Morris was a prominent Black-British icon who left behind an extraordinary legacy of anti-racism and anti-sexism activism in the UK. Morris was born in Jamaica and moved with her family to Brixton, South London — a predominantly African-Caribbean populated area. At age 16, she intervened in the arrest of a Nigerian diplomat for a parking offence in Brixton in 1969, but it was the rise of fascist groups like the National Front and police brutality during her formative years that motivated her to organize demonstrations and collectives to address system racism. She was a member of the British Black Panthers party in the late ’60s, and in 1973, Morris co-founded one of the UK’s first networks for Black women, the Brixton Black Women’s Group. Her life was tragically cut short by cancer at age 27 in 1979, but her legacy lives on. In 2011, the Olive Morris Memorial was set up to fund bursaries for young Black women.
2. Rugiatu Turay (Sierra Leone)
Rugiati knows first-hand the pain and degradation that comes with female genital mutilation in her native Sierra Leone, which is why she has campaigned tirelessly to advocate against the practice and support women’s and girls' rights. She was only 12 when she and her three sisters and a female cousin were taken to an aunty to be cut. After fleeing to a Guinean camp during Sierra Leone’s civil war, she discovered women were still practising FGM. In 2000, she decided to launch the Amazonian Initiative Movement with other women to prevent FGM among refugees- and now she’s on a mission to eliminate it across West Africa. She told the German media outlet, Deutsche-Welle, “I decided [that] we needed to engage these people. They needed to know that we have run away from violence committed to us by people and we are now perpetuating that violence on us.” In 2020, she was awarded the German Theodor Theodor Haecker Prize for civil courage and political integrity.
3. Francia Marquez-Mina (Colombia)
“Today, we are raising our voices to say that we are defenders of life, of our territories, and defenders of the environment. And we as women, in a very specific way, have come into this life, have brought our children into this life, and we will continue to struggle to bring peace and liberty for our people.” These words from Francia Marquez-Mina (Upon receiving the Diakonia National Prize for the Defense of Human Rights in Colombia in 2015 ) define the important role that Black women have always played in the protection of their environment and communities. The 39-year-old is one of Colombia’s most important human rights and environmental activists and is focused on protecting Afro-Colombiana and Indigenous communities in the Yolombo area of Bueno Aires against illegal mining activities and paramilitary groups that threaten those communities. One of her responses has been to mobilize other women to stand up to these groups, in defense of their communities. In January 2021, Marquez-Mina recently lobbied US Vice-President Kamala Harris, to address the plights of and advocate for her community.
4. Marielle Franco (Brazil) 1979–2018
Young, queer, Black and born and bred in one of Rio de Janiero’s largest favelas, Marielle Franco was one of Brazil’s most significant human right defenders and council women in living memory, in the country. During her 15 months in office, Franco introduced a series of bills which included subsidized childcare at night for working single mothers like herself. While she was known to champion causes in bettering the lives of Afro-Brazilians, the LGBT communities, better policing practices, healthcare and education, the uplift of Black womanhood was particularly central to her activism. In a 2017 interview with Brazil de Fato, she said “To be a Black woman is to resist and survive at every moment… [they] look at our bodies and diminish us, checking to see if there are drugs or lice beneath our headwraps; they deny our existence.” Following a round-table in 2018 on young Black women and power structures’ ‘ Franco was assassinated in Rio De Janeiro.
Image Courtesy of Getty Images
5.Farida Bemba Nabourema (Togo)
Farida Bemba Nabourema is a young, fierce Togolese human rights activist and writer who has fought for democracy in Togo since she was a teenager. Just aged 20, she founded the “Faure Must Go” movement, which promotes peaceful resistance and democracy in the country. In 2014, she published her debut book of essays, ‘The Pressure of Oppression’ where she encourages resistance from those who are oppressed. In 2017, Nabourema was recognized as “Female Advocate of the Year by the Africa Youth Awards. Sadly, Nabourema has been unable to return to her native country due to threats on her life, but it has not deterred her. She recently commented: “When I look at all the sacrifices that were made for us to get this far, from my grandfather’s generation to my father’s and now to mine, I am filled with gratitude and hope. … Hope in a Togo where every citizen can aspire to become president without fear of retribution or death.”
6. Ida B Wells (United States) 1862–1931
During the late 1800’s, lynchings occurred throughout the American South, often without repercussions for the perpetrators. The daughter of former slaves, Ida B. Wells was an important journalist from Mississippi who risked her life to expose these killings and other brutal actions meted out against African-Americans. Among her most important publications that showcased the experiences of African-Americans living under the racist system of Jim Crow were ‘Southern Horrors’ and the ‘Red Record’, the latter which drew international attention and outrage, and launched her lifelong pursuit of civil rights. She was an important founding member of the National Association of the Advancement of Coloured People, but she was also a key figure in the women’s suffrage movement by creating a Black suffrage organization in Chicago. It wasn’t always easy though. She often clashed with white women suffrage activists and other Black civil rights leaders; because of her unapologetic radical stance in both movements.
7. Esther Stanford-Xosei (United Kingdom)
The issue of reparations has for a long time been an important cause for action within the diaspora. And in the UK, Esther Stanford-Xosei is a modern-day abolitionist and jurisconsult of Guyanese and Barbadian heritage, leading the front with her organisation ‘Stop the Maangamizi’, which has been championing the establishment of an All-Party Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry for Truth and Reparatory justice in the UK and European parliament. Maangamizi is a word for ‘African Holocaust’ in Swahili. Every year, she has led annual marches on African Emancipation Day March which takes place on the 1st of August For Esther, the genetic, geo-political and historical ties between different communities in the diaspora are central to her reparations advocacy work. She is also the Co-Vice Chair of the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe also known as PARCOE. She’s a regular commentator for UK and international broadcasters such as the BBC, Channel Four Al-Jazeera and TRT World.
8. Justine Masika Bihamba ( Democratic Republic of Congo)
Congolese women do not see their country as the “rape capital of the world” but as a nation of “sisterhood and solidarity.” These words from the founder of Synergie des Femmes and trained lawyer, Justine Masika Bihamba (also known as Mama Justine( exemplify the important role Congolese women play in tackling and dismantling gender-based violence, victims of war and displacement that particularly affect women and children in rural areas, in particular the province of North Kivu. This work includes the creation of listening centres, psychological, medical and legal support for survivors. She has won considerable international recognition for her achievements including the Netherlands Human Rights Tulip award in 2008. She has on several occasions been subject to threats of arrest and death.
5. Farida Bemba Nabourema (Togo)
Farida Bemba Nabourema is a young, fierce Togolese human rights activist and writer who has fought for democracy in Togo since she was a teenager. Just aged 20, she founded the “Faure Must Go” movement, which promotes peaceful resistance and democracy in the country. In 2014, she published her debut book of essays, ‘The Pressure of Oppression’ where she encourages resistance from those who are oppressed. In 2017, Nabourema was recognized as “Female Advocate of the Year by the Africa Youth Awards. Sadly, Nabourema has been unable to return to her native country due to threats on her life, but it has not deterred her. She recently commented: “When I look at all the sacrifices that were made for us to get this far, from my grandfather’s generation to my father’s and now to mine, I am filled with gratitude and hope. … Hope in a Togo where every citizen can aspire to become president without fear of retribution or death.”
6. Ida B Wells (United States) 1862–1931
During the late 1800’s, lynchings occurred throughout the American South, often without repercussions for the perpetrators. The daughter of former slaves, Ida B. Wells was an important journalist from Mississippi who risked her life to expose these killings and other brutal actions meted out against African-Americans. Among her most important publications that showcased the experiences of African-Americans living under the racist system of Jim Crow were ‘Southern Horrors’ and the ‘Red Record’, the latter which drew international attention and outrage, and launched her lifelong pursuit of civil rights. She was an important founding member of the National Association of the Advancement of Coloured People, but she was also a key figure in the women’s suffrage movement by creating a Black suffrage organization in Chicago. It wasn’t always easy though. She often clashed with white women suffrage activists and other Black civil rights leaders; because of her unapologetic radical stance in both movements.
7. Esther Stanford-Xosei (United Kingdom)
The issue of reparations has for a long time been an important cause for action within the diaspora. And in the UK, Esther Stanford-Xosei is a modern-day abolitionist and jurisconsult of Guyanese and Barbadian heritage, leading the front with her organisation ‘Stop the Maangamizi’, which has been championing the establishment of an All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth and Reparatory justice in the UK and the European parliament. Maangamizi is a word for ‘African Holocaust’ in Swahili. Every year, she has led annual marches on African Emancipation Day March which takes place on the 1st of August For Esther, the genetic, geo-political and historical ties between different communities in the diaspora is central to her reparations advocacy work. She is also the Co-Vice Chair of the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe also known as PARCOE. She’s a regular commentator for UK and international broadcasters such as the BBC, Channel Four Al-Jazeera and TRT World.
8. Justine Masika Bihamba ( Democratic Republic of Congo)
Congolese women do not see their country as the “rape capital of the world” but as a nation of “sisterhood and solidarity.” These words from the founder of Synergie des Femmes and trained lawyer, Justine Masika Bihamba (also known as Mama Justine( exemplify the important role Congolese women play in tackling and dismantling gender-based violence, victims of war and displacement that particularly affect women and children in rural areas, in particular the province of North Kivu. This work includes the creation of listening centres, psychological, medical and legal support for survivors. She has won considerable international recognition for her achievements including the Netherlands Human Rights Tulip award in 2008. She has on several occasions been subject to threats of arrest and death.
Image Courtesy of Getty Images
9. Ilwad Elman (Somalia, Canada)
She was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize and was described as ‘Somalia’s saving grace’ by the human rights organization ‘Fair Planet’. 30-year-old Ilwan Elman who grew up in Canada, (her family fled the country’s civil war), returned to her home country 11 years ago to co-found the Elman Peace and Human Rights Center in the capital city, Mogadishu. She’s worked to support war victims and fight against extremism. At just 20 years old, she founded the first rape crisis centre and has since created spaces for women in peacebuilding, programmes for disarmament and the rehabilitation of child soldiers. Elman is also working with the Kofi Annan Foundation to To prevent and counter violent extremism with other youth leaders and is UNICEF’s Global Board Member for “Generation Unlimited” on employment, training & education.
10. Kimberly Bryant (United States)
If technology is our present and future, this African-American engineer is ensuring that Black girls get a huge piece of it. Kimberly Bryant is the founder of the non-profit organization, Black Girls Code which she launched in 2011. It trains Black girls from ages 7 to 17 how to code during workshops and after-school programmes. Over 14,000 African-American, Latino and Native-American girls have been taught across the United States and it has an international base in Johannesburg to ensure Black girls in Africa can also be introduced to STEM disciplines in a way that empowers them to dream and fulfillment. She’s also on a mission to diversify the tech world, by partnering with Microsoft, Google and HP to train and support young women with a variety of skills and support in the industry.
11. Leymah Gbowee (Liberia)
Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist responsible for leading a women’s nonviolent peace movement, Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace that helped bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. In 2011 she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in organizing that pivotal event. Gbowee has also received several awards including the 2007 Blue Ribbon for Peace award from Harvard University and was featured in the 2008 documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell which showcased the attempts of Liberian women to bring an end to Liberia’s civil war. She has also become recognized internationally for mobilizing women and has authored several inspiring books.
12. Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt) 1931–2021
Known as “the godmother of Egyptian feminism” the late Nawal El Saadawi had fought against patriarchy for decades. Despite enduring death threats, censorship, exile and imprisonment, she devoted her life and career to fighting for change. After speaking out against female genital mutilation, she was stripped of her position as director of the Ministry of Public Health. She received an honorary doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Despite censorship, she’d written more than 50 books and even made a run for president in the 2005 election. El Saadawi is considered one of the most vocal voices for women’s rights in the Arab world and her legacy lives on.
Originally published for Amaka Studio in 2021
