A Tribute to Revolutionary Black Feminists in Sweden

2015-10-20 | Victoria Kawesa padlock

OPINION/INTERNATIONAL

”The revolution of the Black woman is happening at this moment in Sweden. An awakening about redefining black womanhood in Sweden is exploding.” Victoria Kawesa, black feminism activist, highlights her sisters in the struggle and especially salutes Black Vogue, after their fall gathering in Stockholm this weekend, because of how they are changing the way Black Female Bodies are perceived in the public space.

Victoria Kawesa, activist, politician (Fi), gender researcher, co-writer of the first Swedish report on afrophobia and founder of the Black Feminist Forum in Sweden

Black Vogue hosted the most amazing fall mingle at Södra Teatern this weekend. We salute you sisters at Black Vogue, for changing the way Black Female Bodies are perceived in the public space. We thank you for giving young black girls another view of their bodies, and for making the struggle fun for all Black women. We thank you for bringing us together and up-lifting the black feminist struggle as also meaning changing harmful representational practices based on racist and sexist stereotyping of black womanhood.

The revolution of the Black woman is happening at this moment in Sweden. An awakening about redefining black womanhood in Sweden is exploding. Black women are taking the public space and speaking about our experiences of multiple oppressive power structures. We are claiming the public space and speaking our minds.

Part of this on-going revolutionary process of a black feminist consciousness, is embodied by a diverse group of black women, amazing black women. The Black HerStory centers on the Black female body, the focus is on her. We are many doing this work, and I salute all of you. I especially see separatist forums for specifically Black women as very central to this process. This is the reason why I formed a separatist forum about Black Feminism. There are other forums such as Black Vogue, Daughters of a Phenomenal Woman, the account @SvartKvinna by Fanna Ndow. The work about Black female hair, by our own Salem Yohannes and many more.

Part of the struggle of articulating a black feminist consciousness is taking public space through speaking our minds on issues that specifically concern black women. I can hear the soulful and critical voices of sisters such as Steffi Aluoch, Daisy Kintu, Doreen L. Laryea, Coura Mbaye, Bee Nasser, Valerie Kyeyune Backström, Judith Kiros, Haley Quantz, Amie Bramme Sey, Bana Ghebrehiwot, Kiqi Dumbuya, Rudy Mengesha, Amira Diallo and Elisabete Cátia Suzana. I can hear the critical voices of black muslim women such as Bilan Osman, May A Abdullahi and Soraia Guled. I can hear the voices of my queer black sisters such as Justine Balagade, Alle Eriksson and Grace Jobe. I cherish and listen to the voices from those who came before us, such as Josette Bushell-Mingo, Ylva Habel, Lena Sawyer, Anna Adeniji, Viveca Motsieloa, Astrid Assefa, Beth Ahlberg, Anne Kubai and our own MsAfropolitan Minna Salami. We keep on learning from all of you about black womanhood in the struggle.

But loudest of them all, is still the voices from all of you that joined the Black Vogue event yesterday. Lovette Jallow, Antoinette Guede, Naboughal Secka and Amy Ananas, you are creating herstory by reinventing the black female bodies as multiple, diverse and beautiful in all shapes and forms.