Voices

‘Gender hegemony’: How colonialism distorted African perspectives of trans identity

The colonial construction of transphobia and the continued enforcement of the gender hegemony, have created an environment in which transgender people have to conform to idealised depictions of femininity and masculinity to find a sense of community and safety.

Mainstream breastfeeding discourse has nothing to do with women. And everything to do with patriarchy

I introduced formula milk to my second son’s diet when he was five months old.…

Why our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians

In his 1997 address at International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People, Nelson Mandela, the…

My friend, Chriton Atuhwera was killed in Kenya’s Kakuma camp for being gay. Don’t “humanize” him

Why is the disregard of a person’s human right always greeted with a call to humanize that person? As if it is ever possible to bestow humanity on an individual and as though queer people are not already human enough merely by being? Writes Lucretia, a trans woman from Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp.

Who belongs in Akon City?

About two years ago, I sat in a cinema and watched Marvel’s Black Panther. I…

The racist politicization of Black hair in African schools

When Christian missionaries established schools in different parts of East Africa, they constructed the narrative that Black hair was unsightly, ungodly and untameable.

All lives matter in Nigeria, except Queer lives

Queer people have been told they are a distraction to the #ENDSARS movement, why do we always have to postpone our liberation?

Nigeria’s criminal justice system is failing minoritized communities and women

Rebecca Baba* is a 37-year old midwife from Anyigba, a small community in Kogi State,…

Saying: ‘I don’t care that you are queer,’ to a queer person is not allyship. Here’s why

The context in which allies make this statement is not lost to me but good intentions do not exonerate a person of the ability to cause harm.

African illustrations and their role in minority solutions storytelling

If illustrations have a history of social commentary, how can they be condensed into a solutions journalism perspective?