Ukamaka Olisakwe
Ukamaka Olisakwe (born 24 October 1982) is a Nigerian feminist author, short-story writer, and screenwriter. In 2014 she was chosen as one of 39 of Sub-Saharan Africa's most promising writers under the age of 40, showcased in the Africa39 project and included in the anthology Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara (edited by Ellah Allfrey).
Quotes
[edit]- We believe in reincarnation and that life is a circle. We go and come back.
- When you delve deeper into these anxieties, you realize that it is always about power; the fear of losing power when the feminist is allowed equal footing in society.
- Without freedom, there can be no love,”
- change is manifesting and it is so beautiful to watch.
- feminism is not new, especially not on the continent. Maybe the word itself found its way lately into the Nigerian vocabulary, but at its core the struggle for the social, political and economic equality of the sexes; ideologies which aren’t any different from what my late grandmothers fought for—is not new
- But I would like to point out that many women in my community are no longer afraid to tell their stories; they no longer seek for anyone’s permission before they call out their abusers on social media. They no longer accept bullshit from men, from the society, and the treacherous system that insists on relegating us to the background
- Social media is the major win here; it opened new frontiers for women’s rights conversations, and feminists have utilised the digital media to advance ground root political and cultural movements in Nigeria, for example. It is an amazing organizing tool—social media, and I think of it as the revolution the world had been waiting for
- There is a dark side to everything and many things can be true at the same time
- I was not so confident about my writing and I needed that validation. It was sort of a confirmation that I was treading the right path. It was a gift and also a challenge, because afterward I began to pay more attention to what I do with language, how I craft my stories
- Ogadinma is my love letter to the women in my life, who were married off to much older men in the 80s, when they were only teenagers. I thought it was important to tell this story because it was an opportunity for me to understand why my aunts didn’t leave their abusive husbands and how society punishes the woman who chooses to walk away from a toxic marriage. It is always so easy to ask why a woman stayed with her abuser. Ogadinma was an education for me; researching it, was a necessary education
- The challenges were many, but my colleagues at home continue to soldier on, and I think they deserve all the accolades. They are powerful, and I cheer them on every opportunity I get
- Read, and don’t ever stop. Read across genres. Read non-traditional literatures, like manuals and brochures. You could learn a thing or two; you could attempt a non-traditional story form, like Chikodili Emelumadu did with her exceptional short story, What to do When Your Child Brings Home a Mami Wata
