The New African Woman: Sincerely Unapologetic (For Being Different)

"There are badass African women out there. They have ideas; a voice. They are creating platforms. You cannot box up today’s African woman. You just can’t." ...

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The Rise And Rise Of The Accidental Journalist

"I want to change the narrative of the African woman … on the global stage. I am tired of seeing sagging breasts and ...

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Belinda Otas, Bravery Redefined

Belinda Otas is many things: bold, outspoken, controversial, complicated. But for us, her singular defining attribute is her bravery. She possesses the kind of courage immortalised in stories of superheroines. Especially because of this, Yaaya is glad to share Belinda’s story with our readers and the world. We believe her story should be celebrated and upheld as a constant reminder of the force for life that lies within us all. ...

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Yaaya At: The Film Africa Festival 2013 | L'Afrance

"50 years ago, they said 'n**gas are savages who can play drums.' Today they say, 'black people have got rhythm.' I am sick of being black. I am a Senegalese." With these words, L'Afrance sets the tone for the unfolding of...

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Yaaya At: The Film Africa Festival 2013 | La Pirogue

Two hundred years ago, the people of Senegal, like many of their West African neighbours, experienced the greatest human rights abuse of all time – the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Wolof, Fulani, Halpulaar and Serer people were captured and chained in slave ships for three months, where only the strongest survived the middle passage, only to be sold like cattle in the Americas. 200 years later, hundreds of Senegalese young men are ironically...

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Yaaya At: The Film Africa Festival 2013 | Atlantiques

There was a noticeable buzz inside Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, as we waited for the screening of Atlantiques and La Pirogue. No doubt the Yaaya team was riled up to see both films, not least because it quenched our love for the arts, Africa and the African Diaspora, but because the Film Africa Festival had succeeded in putting together an exciting and diverse exhibition of films and documentaries from across Africa. These films...

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