WASA Day at Africa Week 2009
June 17, 2009
By Injairu Kulundu
One of the discussions
As part of Africa week at Rhodes University held on the 25th - 29th May 2009, the Women’s Academic Solidarity Association (WASA) held an event that took the opportunity to celebrate “The African Woman as Heroine”. A presentation of remarkable African women and their achievements was created and showcased (when possible) in lectures in order to proudly make visible African women who have contributed positively to the continent. WASA also wanted to create a space in which the unspoken experiences of African women in the academic context of Rhodes University could be explored. As part of an event held on the 26th at Eden Grove Blue that had at least fifty audience members, we invited four women involved in Rhodes University either as academic staff or postgraduate students to give us insight into their experiences of being African women in an academic context. The result was a myriad of explorations of identity in which each woman highlighted their constant negotiation and renegotiation of their identity. It was interesting to note the many understandings of what being an African woman in an academic context entailed, and the threads of experiences that seemed to resonate amongst many of those present. Different journeys towards finding a space where one can find their expression and cultivate it in a way that contributes to academic context were described by some of those present. The struggle of being in a context where particular understandings of what it means to be an African or a woman was also discussed.
 |
| Full turnout for the WASA talk |
This event provided an interesting opportunity to publicly speak about experiences that mostly remain unsaid in such gatherings. It provided for those willing to reflect on and express their experiences which in turn served as an invitation for those present to do the same. It was an enjoyable experience in which gave the sense of getting to know the lives behind so many of the people we encounter daily on this campus.
 |
Two films were showcased at the end of the discussion both providing particular viewpoints on the African women’s experiences in the continent. 'The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun' (or 'La Petite Vendeuse du Soleil') by Djibril Diop Mambety explored the life of a young girl who tries to make a living for herself selling newspapers- a job mostly undertaken by boys. ‘Moolade’ By Ousmane Sembene explored women’s responses to female circumcision. The films vividly portrayed the lives and struggles of the girl or women it represented.
| The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun |
It was a good opportunity to think about the lived experiences of African woman in this continent and in doing so encouraged broader thinking in terms of the issues facing African women and possible solutions to them.
