To Be A Nigerian Woman*
These years sessions aim to localize and platform feminist thought in Nigeria.
This edition of Klub der Weisheit was led by a performance, a keynote speech and moderated panel discussion between Lady Donli and Amanda Iheme followed by audience contributions. This layered format lent intimacy & dynamism to the session, driving the arguments of the speaker’s home.
Amanda Iheme’s stirring speech on Freedom of choice highlighted restrictions on narrow lanes of womanhood we can experience in the country. She contrasted modernity with the expressions of womanhood once enjoyed by our great grandmothers and women of the past reminding us that these are our ancestors.
Lady Donli took the form of a Responsorial Psalm, a dialogue between two Hausa women—herself and the audience—channelling resilience as we speak through inherited silences.
Together, the discussion bridged the traditional and the hyper-modern, loosely mapping what might be required for Nigerian women, amidst shifting societal structures, to agree on new roles and contributions to the collective.
While Western feminism often emphasizes individual agency, Nigerian feminist thought navigates womanhood through communal, cultural, and religious lenses.
Feminism as a global movement championing the perspective of women* has been marked by an evolution in waves, each of them shaped by its sociopolitical context. In Africa —and specifically Nigeria— it is a unique trajectory influenced by indigenous structures, colonial histories, and economic realities.
This edition of KDW will explore how Nigerian women negotiate their identities within and beyond dominant patriarchal narratives, examining the intersections of gender with class, sexuality, tradition, and modernity. Through performance, storytelling, and discussion, we will engage with writers, artists, and activists who are reshaping contemporary understandings of womanhood in Nigeria.
Iheme Amanda
Clinical Psychologist
Architecture Photographer
Lady Donli
Music Artist
