AWDF Women Writers Workshop 2015 Participant Profiles
1. Amarachi Jessica Orji, Nigeria
Nigerian-born Amarachi Jessica Orji is the last child in a family of eight. Her first novel 'The Black Saint' in 2014, was approved for Ebonyi State Secondary Schools Literature. She is presently just about to publish her second book 'Thicker Than Blood.' She has also written scripts for a few ‘Nollywood’ movies including Emotional Tears, Deep Loss and 11;45 and is a budding TV presenter. Amarachi believes her that when given a platform, her voice will positively affect lives.
Oriji is a graduate of History and International Studies, from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She also has a Diploma in Journalism, from School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.
2. Annette Mkandawire, Malawi
Annette, a Social Welfare Officer for Zomba City Council in Malawi, moved to SOS Children's Villages in 2012 where she presently works as a Gender Officer. Her experience there nurtured her interest in promoting girls’ education. Annette believe that Africa can develop if issues of gender disparities that exist between men and women, boys and girls can be adequately addressed.
Anette holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science with a focus in Social Work from the Catholic University of Malawi, from which she graduated in 2011.
3. Billie Adwoa McTernan, Ghana
Billie is an Accra-based freelance writer and editor with interests in arts, politics, development and current affairs. She began her writing career as a journalist and has written for a number of Africa-focused publications over the last six years. Currently, she is the West Africa correspondent and Art & Life editor for The Africa Report magazine, and also writes for the Guardian UK and Associated Press. In these positions she has written and commissioned a wide range of stories on varying topics. She recently travelled to Liberia to report on the community support by women groups during the Ebola crisis, and also interviewed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
4. Fatou Wurie, Sierra Leone
Fatou is an emerging writer and photographer whose work has been featured by the Huffington Post, Okay Africa, Amnesty International Blog and the Standard Times- a leading local newspaper discussing women's health, maternal and newborn health, sexuality and politics. Fatou's passion lies in “curating spaces and places through community designed projects, technology, and advocacy policy to drive improved social services for marginalized communities - especially women.” She is a health communications and policy advocacy activist who has worked in numerous international, national and bi-lateral donor organisations, international NGOs and foundations. She is the founder of The Survivor Dream Project - a community led project that creates sustainable change in the lives of vulnerable populations across Sierra Leone.
5. Jama Jack, The Gambia
Jama Jack is the University Communications Officer of University of The Gambia. She holds an undergraduate degree in Communication Studies and Journalism from the Institut Superieur de l’Information et de la Communication in Rabat, Morocco. She has written articles for Lend a Hand Society’s magazines: Extinguish It and Rhythm of The Young, the Daily Observer Newspaper in The Gambia as well as Balafong Magazine. She runs a personal blog, Linguere, which she uses to raise awareness on and promote the various causes she supports, especially issues relating to women and girls. Jama sees literature as a powerful tool to transform society. She dedicates a lot of her time to reading and understanding many different genres, improving her writing and expanding her reach. She blogs on linguerebi.wordpress.com.
6. Josephine Opar, Kenya
Josephine Opar is a Kenyan-born freelance journalist who has written for The Guardian UK, The Christian Science Monitor, Indiewire and the Urban Perspective (UP) Magazine since graduating in 2013 with a Journalism degree (United States International University-Africa). Some of the topics she covered as a staff writer at UP Magazine include the flawed legal aid system in Kenya, and how some organizations such as the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Kenya) are educating women about their rights. She covered a story for Indiewire, in New York, about a documentary (Sewing Hope) detailing the work of TIME Magazine's Most Influential Person honoree (Rose Nyirumbe), who rehabilitates former female child soldiers in Uganda some of whom bore their captors' children.
7. Merna Thomas Soryal, Egypt
Merna Thomas is an Assistant Reporter at The New York Times, based in Cairo. She has produced work in the past for HBO Television, VICE, Swedish National TV, Vanity Fair, among several others. She also founded, NooNeswa, Egypt’s first feminist visual arts initiative to operate in public spaces. Its most famous project is known as “Graffiti Harimi”, a campaign aimed at breaking social taboos through graffiti, photos of which can be found here://www.facebook.com/WomenGraffiti?fref=ts. She has worked passionately with refugee communities in Cairo in the past, as a social worker with Caritas & UNHCR. She holds a Bachelors Degree in English Literature from York University in Toronto. She has lived in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Canada, the UAE, and Egypt.
8. Monica Cheru-Mpambawashe, Zimbabwe
Monica is an assistant editor at The Herald, Zimbabwe's largest daily newspaper, where she runs the lifestyle desk. She returned to this post after a one and half year stint and as marketing and communications manager for a women’s rights organization called Professional, Executive and Business Women’s Forum (PROWEB). She has work experience with various other women and girls’ rights organisations with special focus on sexual and reproductive health rights.
She is a women’s rights activist, particularly interested in “pushing the envelope when it comes to the boundaries that women confine themselves within.” In 2013 she participated in the Leadership and Women Political Participation Global TOT Institute facilitated by Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP).Monica is also a published fiction writer with two collections of short stories, Chivi Sunsets and The Happy Clapper. In her works she looks at women’s existence within the broader context of society, religion, morality and superstition. Presently, she is working on the biography of Zimbabwe’s first black supermodel who went on the build a business empire and mentor thousands of young women into entrepreneurship. She lives in Harare, Zimbabwe.
9. Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, Nigeria
Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi is a graduate of Development Studies from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations with specialization in Gender Studies from Swansea University, United Kingdom. She started her advocacy work by interning at the United Nations Headquarters, New York and Half the Sky Movement, where she wrote articles on women, girls, children and social justice. She is currently a 2015 fellow of the Vital Voices Women Lead Fellowship. She has worked as a consultant for Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE). Ayodeji uses her voice in the social media space to create awareness amongst Nigeria’s growing social media users on rape and Gender Based violence amongst other issues.
10. Aisha Ali Haji
Aisha is a writer currently employed as a copywriter in Advertising. She is also enrolled in the University of Nairobi studying for a degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She has a strong interest in using social media as a platform to highlight, talk about and champion women’s rights issues. She believes that it gives a space for women who would otherwise be silenced to voice their issues and allows build communities with each other. She uses twitter extensively, under the handle, @bintiM, to spark conversations on various issues facing Kenyan women. Aisha was also involved in The Atieno Project, a collective of Feminists voices from Kenya that aims to educate audiences on various feminist topics. Currently they are working on project to document Kenyan Feminism and Feminism. During the 2014, 16 Days of Activism campaign, she was involved with a group of women, Weavers, in a social media campaign that highlighted various issues under violence against women.
11 . Reham Elgebaly, Egypt
Reham Elgebaly is the co-founder & Trainer of SEDAQ an organization that works with women’s networks as a lobbying force for the inclusion of the protection of Egyptian women’s rights to the 2015 parliament.
She holds a Masters Degree in child rights, and is currently pursuing a PH.D in Gender, Development and Social Change at Cairo University where she also lectures. Presently, Reham is involved in developing programs for sexual education.
“Not only do I endeavor to give women access to sexual knowledge, but also strive to help develop relevant content, to increase girls skills and confidence, and to extend their participation as change agents.” Rehem believes coaching is the most effective and most enjoyable way to change the world. She is responsible for a number of women-focused projects revolving around empowerment, health rights, marginalized communities and violence against women.
Rehem trains volunteers and community based organizations on gender equality through workshops.
12. Salma Takky, Morrocco
Salma Takky is a Moroccan citizen with a BA in English studies ( Linguistics) from Moulay Ismail University - Meknes – Morocco. She is currently pursuing her post-grad studies in « Cultural Studies at Mohammed Ben Abdellah University ,Fez. She received a grant from the US Embassy to study Journalism and Digital media with an American Organization called GlobalGirl Media, which has had a great impact in her personal and professional life. She has worked for a number of NGOs and participated in many local and international social activities and projects, particularly on Media, Education, Social Entrepreneurship, Peace and Non-violence ,Women and Youth. She also does extensive volunteer work with vulnerable groups including women, orphans and the homeless. One of her volunteer experiences involved teaching English to illiterate women. She also participated in a program funded by USAID called “Youth Speak” that promotes youth leadership.
“Being an activist and defending women is a challenge in Morocco because people are conservative and for [some], a woman is made for feeding the man’s needs and taking care of children. I cannot change the world, but I can make a difference,” she says.
13. Sibusiso T Mtshede, Zimbabwe
Sibusiso is a Zimbabwean journalist, and a columnist for a Zimbabwe based newspaper, the Sunday News, who is passionate about women’s rights. She is also involved with non-profit women’s rights organisations. She currently works on a project aimed at helping disadvantaged young girls source sanitary wear. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Sciences at the University of Kwazulu Natal in South Africa. Her research project is an interrogation of the representation of women in South African short films. She writes for and about women and is “driven by passion and fuelled by the faith in the endless possibilities of women’s achievements. “
14. Simamkele Dlakavu, South Africa
Simamkele Dlakavu, story-teller and social activist, works as a human rights television producer on one of South Africa's most popular current affairs show-The Big Debate. - and for international broadcasters like the BBC. Simamkele has been a youth activist since the age of 15. She recently co-founded a social enterprise called Sakha Ingomso Lethu, which means "we are building our tomorrow". Through her work, Simamkele has represented young people in various youth summits around the African continent and the world. In 2013, she was recognized by the Moremi Initiative as one out of 28 of “Africa’s Most Outstanding Emerging Women Leaders”.
She holds a BA Degree in International Relations and Political Studies as well as an honours degree in Political Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand.
15. Tamika Kampini, Malawi
Tamika is a young Malawian woman with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Malawi Adventist University. While pursuing a Masters degree in Financial Management she works with the Student Christian Organization of Malawi as a projects monitoring and evaluation officer.
Tamika enjoys writing articles and reports highlighting the struggles of African women in their various countries. SCOM organizes women in communities to form self-help groups and also teaches on sexual reproductive health.
16. Zanele Mabaso, South Africa
Zanele is an advocate for women and girl’s reproductive health and socio-political rights and blogger. She is a member of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Youth Advisory Panel and the elected Youth Representative to the UNFPA Regional Safeguarding Young People’s Program Steering Committee, a program being implemented in 8 Southern African countries. Zanele is passionate about young people’s empowerment especially that of young women and girls across Southern Africa. She currently sits on the Prenatal HIV Research Unit’s Adolescents Advisory Board and Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institutes Youth Community Advisory Board. She’s the Global Ambassador for Washington DC based ILive2LeadInternational organisation and a member of the National Task Team to the ACT!2015 National Youth Alliance.
17. Zemdena Abebe Areru, Ethiopia
Zemdena is a Political Science and International Relations graduate actively engaged in women’s rights issues. Hailing from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she currently resides in Bamako, Mali as a volunteer for the African Union. An ardent African feminist she is a strongly committed to amplifying the voices of women in all arenas and she is an ardent believer in being part of change. Her activism and volunteerism started as far back as high school and she eventually volunteered and consulted for the Speak Africa initiative with UNICEF Ethiopia. She has held various leadership positions; among them chair of the Addis Ababa Girls' Forum, which was aimed at facilitating discussion among girls on issues that make them vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and laying the foundation for legislative intervention against sexual abuse. Additionally, she was the first female president of Addis Ababa Student’s Union. She has participated in several forums at both national, regional and international levels, the latest being the Fourth Annual Leadership Conference held in Lilongwe, Malawi. She is also, a member of FEMNET, a longtime AWDF grantee organisation.
18. Ruth Adong, Uganda
Ruth Adong is a journalist by experience. She has worked at Touch FM, a radio station in Kampala, as a news anchor and reporter for the last 3 years and everything she knows about journalism, she has learnt on the job. Growing up, reading was always an important part of her life, partly due to her father being an ardent advocate of reading and all her aunts who are teachers. Eventually she picked up an interest in writing and in began her pursuit of a career as a journalist and writer. In 2012, She wrote an article entitled Dealing with Unplanned Pregnancies that was published on the SUNRISE WEBSITE and over the past 3 years has sought to continue publishing works that make a difference in society. She plans to pursue Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Currently, she has two blogs namely: MESSYMIND and RABELAH’S WORLD where she writes on a variety of social justice issues.