African ‘Her’story

Africa is a seriously misunderstood continent. Our knowledge of that region comes from Hollywood, melodramatic news stories and themeparks (re: when Florida’s Busch Gardens used to be subtitled “The Dark Continent”). I will be the first to admit to have fallen into the sad Africa trap: disease, conflict, poverty and despair.  In my defense, however, I have been to a few countries in Africa, and it’s hard to deny the omnipresent hardships.

Despite the hardships that African people face, something about who they are as a people, what they stand for, and how they live in communities is truly admirable.  For those of you who have had the privilege of exploring the continent, you will be able to understand the addicting feelings you get while there.  I haven’t met a single person that has gone to Africa and doesn’t have plans to return.

I fell in love with South Africa during my sophomore year of college.  At that point, my schedule was swamped with a double major and a double minor, none of which focused on Africa.  Because of that, I have crafted much of my undergraduate research in my pre-existing majors on the African experience – that is, the different dynamics, culture, history, politics and current events within each country that contribute to an overall African tradition.

What I’ve learned in that research and what people don’t know from watching television and the news is that the United States isn’t the only country with people who can pull themselves up by their bootstraps.  People in South Africa, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Ghana and in many other African countries were able to bring about huge political, social, and economic changes – and often times, without the West’s help.

The achievements that Africans bring to their countries are hardly ever recognized and are pushed into the background, especially when in comparison to the amount of “aid” the Western world provides to the continent.

What is pushed even farther into the background than African achievements are African women achievements. For this reason, I will recognize in this blog the women from all over Africa who have exceeded any expectations and have become role models for the next generation of African women.

Whether the accomplishment is starting her own business with just a few dollars or withholding sex from men to start a country-wide revolution, I will address it in these blogs.  Someone owes it to the African women to recognize their accomplishments and applaud them for it.

Each post, I will either focus on one women who has done something undoubtedly remarkable, or bring up current events issues regarding women’s rights in Africa, and idealizing the women who made it happen.  Every women deserves acknowledgement and every woman deserves her own story.  I will write to those aims.