MINNEAPOLIS – The agenda for the recently held African Women in the Diaspora Conference included lectures on gender issues, human rights issues with regard to sex and labor human trafficking, and widowhood. But perhaps the most often discussed topic was the practice of female genital cutting.
Nyango Melissa Nambangi is the Founder and Executive Director of the Minnesota African Women Association (MAWA) August 9, 2014 Letter to African parents in Minnesota – Backgrounder for MAWA’s BART program Dear African parent/guardian: We want to tell you what some issues are for African teens in Minnesota – we have been working with them…
It is not quite often that discussions around sexuality or teen pregnancy come up in African immigrant homes. Even when these discussions prop triggered in some cases by television programs or movies, parents more often will always fall back to what their customs and traditions proscribe. Read more
Marianne Neba is 18 years old, a native of Cameroon who immigrated to the United States a few years ago and recently graduated from Park Center High school Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. For the last three years, Neba has been a participant of the AGILE/Amakolo African Girls Pathways to Success project offered by the Minnesota African…
Outdoor temperatures soared to record-breaking levels Thursday, June 23rd. But the heat, held in check at the North Star Ballroom on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota did not weaken the enthusiasm or energy of Minnesota African Women’s Association as they hosted their second annual fundraising dinner to a crowd of over…
It is often said that “when you educate the man, you educate the family but when you educate the woman, you educate the community.” This adage epitomizes the importance of education for the girl child. Read more
Women have been at the forefront of change and have played a big role in building and sustaining communities as well as organizing for the violence against women in the African society; yet for a long time their stories haven’t been told. Read more