Whispers travelled like a wild fire
Her rise to power was a result of her
lifting her legs, singing hallelujah
they expressed.
It didn’t matter that she played odds
to become she. Working and moving
pieces on a board like any man would
She couldn’t blame them, how could she
because woman and power had been
reduced to a sex equation but it didn’t
matter, she could sleep well at night for
she knew she was the hope of the
woman after her for she did it
better than any man would.
by Liz Kilili, Femmolution Volume 1
Femmolution, a powerful female movement, derives its name from the combination of "femme" (French for woman) and "evolution." It serves as a rallying call for the advancement and transformation of women. In Africa, gender is a challenging topic to discuss, as women have endured centuries of oppression and marginalization. Both men and women shy away from engaging in conversations surrounding gender, as societal norms dictate specific roles for each gender, with women often confined to the home or deemed inferior to men in the workplace.
As women, we face expectations that to be taken seriously, we must suppress our femininity. Society insists that true femininity requires an affinity for makeup, dresses, and high heels. But why can't we embrace both? Why can't we be passionate about politics, sciences, and running businesses while also cherishing our love for high heels and embracing our curves? As the insightful Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi aptly put it, "We say to girls: You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful but not too successful, otherwise you will threaten the man. If you are the breadwinner in your relationship with a man, pretend that you are not, especially in public, otherwise you will emasculate him."
Femmolution collaborates with diverse female artists from across Africa, utilizing music, poetry, and visual art to express the experiences of women in today's society. It fosters a platform for self-expression and self-love.
The journey of Femmolution began in 2016, gathering poetry, short stories, and images from 69 women to create an anthology. Additionally, we proudly produced what we believe to be the first Pan African Album featuring women artists from Africa.
In our second book we published 26 women and featured 3 artists on the album.
Since then we have published two Anthologies, an Audio book, two EPs, a Podcast, Femmolution Kids book and a Femmolution Teens Podcast too.
