African Feminism Quotes

“Oh Child

Look within

Find your ForeMothers

Find them

Find them”
― Malebo Sephodi

“Society is obsessed with women's bodies and I take my body back by doing whatever it is that I want to do with my body”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“In nude protests, the very same body that is objectified and subjected to endless scrutiny and policing is used to reclaim power.”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“Sometimes, survival is about navigating the thin line between rage and joy”
― malebo sephodi

“To misbehave us to denounce the social norms that limit individuals based on who they are. That to make history is to upset patriarchy, a system that is intent on controlling and marginalising others.”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“The woman leads a twofold existence indeed, the depth of her social ostracism being equally only by her stoic endurance. To live in harmony with the society of man, to conform with men's demands, she resigns herself to a self-effacement that is demeaning, she sacrifices herself.”
― Thomas Sankara, Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle

“And that makes us (black women) feel like we have spokespeople, because everybody we encounter feels they have a piece of you and can tell you how to live your life”
― Malebo Sephodi

“Misbehaviour does not require a cape, shades or a bazooka. It is in decisions we make that challenge the notions adopted to keep us well behaved”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“When you disrupt the existing conditions and refuse to accept anything less than what you know you are worth, you start making those who oppress you so uncomfortable that they will try anything to discredit you.”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“What else must we do and say?

What else must the oppressed do for a taste of freedom?”
― Malebo Sephodi

“Through Miss Behave I am attempting to reclaim my voice one word at a time and live my truth to the best of my ability”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“Discrimination can be subtle but it undoubtedly exists in the workplace. Corporate culture can be sexist, classist, racist and ableist, and simply having representation without challenging the roots of the ‘isms’ will not get us very far”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“I want to live in a society where we are all liberated. This is what my feminism looks like”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“I knew there was something wrong when I couldn't say he or she in my own language.”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“i want to live in a society where we are all liberated. this is what my feminism looks like.”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“hope is a driving force in the fight for liberation. if we have no hope for freedom then we've already lost.”
― Malebo Sephodi

“We will always feel inadequate for as long as we view success from a capitalist lens”
― Malebo Sephodi

“The manner in which the exclusionary nature of the English language is used in knowledge prodution separates us as humans.”
― Malebo Sephodi

“When a group has internalised their oppression, they may find themselves unable to imagine living without it”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“Each chapter in MissBehave is about navigating life as a black woman and all encounters that led me to espouse feminist ideals”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“just because i can't articulate it does not mean i don't know it”
― malebo sephodi

“I am flawed and not perfect and get the theory incorrect because I am still unlearning internalised oppression. I still struggle with deep-seated beliefs about gender norms and have to constantly check myself. I don’t get it right all the time but I am walking in the right direction. I used to be hard on myself because I desperately wanted my feminism to be accepted by other feminists. This is when I learned the importance of the different threads that run through different strands of feminism. Sometimes I don’t feminist up to the standards of others but I continue to identify as an African feminist. It is important that we offer critique among one another though – so we may
continually check our blind spots.”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“I know that my fight on this continent is a fight against patriarchy, poverty, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, FGM, rape, HIV/Aids, human and food insecurity, displacement, conflicts and the many atrocities we continue to face. I fight with hope for total liberation. And I know that with this identity, labelling myself as an African feminist, it is not to say that there is a sisterhood that represents and speaks on behalf of all of us. We are not homogenous, but we are connected.”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“these words are pieces of my life strung together to tell my story. i am flawed. i am problematic. i am learning to unlearn. i’m in need of healing but i tell my story anyway.”
― Malebo Sephodi, Miss Behave

“my relationship with myself – existing in my body – has been a complex one. Physically, spiritually, economically and politically, I have had to grapple with reconciling my existence
on this earth. In tracking these complexities, I have noticed that Black women have been prominent in assisting and crafting who I am and how I analyse my environment.”
― malebo sephodi, Miss Behave

“The slave who cannot assume his revolt does not deserve pity. That slave alone is responsible for his misfortune if he deludes himself about the suspect condescension of a master’s false promise of freedom. Only struggle liberates, and we call on all our sisters of all races to rise up to regain their rights.”
― Thomas Sankara, Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution, 1983-87

“i’m here to spread the gospel of Earth’s love and spiritual wisdom. in a world where capitalism is actively severing our bonds, i believe Earth’s love re-members us. this love and spiritual wisdom is what fuels a healthier and safer way of being.”
― Malebo Sephodi