I finally read Can Feminism Be African? A Most Paradoxical Question by Minna Salami, after a long wait from the library. The book explores a wide range of critical questions and reflections from the author, weaving together feminist theories and practices/theories, cultures, history, and personal stories to discuss feminism from an African perspective.
Minna Salami is a writer and socio-political critic, known for her blog MSAfropolitan. Her articles and essays dive into feminist views, Eurocentrism, and patriarchy. Published in 2025, Can Feminism Be African? A Most Paradoxical Question is her second book, following Sensuous Knowledge.
Africa and Feminisms
The book is divided into three chapters: Feminism(s), Africa, and Being. Though the titles seem simple, immersing yourself in the text reveals their profound depth and complexity.
Throughout the chapters, Salami weaves the complex relationship between Africa, feminism(s), and being, constantly juxtaposing, paradoxically questioning, and questioning. This leads to a view from both sides, South to North and vice versa.
In the chapter Africa, Salami introduces two concepts: Metaphysical Africa versus Empirical Africa. Africa is a continent of 54 countries, each multicultural, multilingual, and with a history of colonization. Colonization is both a common link and a point of difference among these countries. The duality between colonizer and colonized, master and slave, oppressor and oppressed, is foundational for understanding how power, inequality, and superiority uphold the patriarchal system.
Salami argues that patriarchy is a unit, thus the feminist fight goes beyond seeking equal rights.
Feminist transformation to legislation, policy, politics, government, and so on, does not end patriarchy.
Women may earn the same as men, but discrimination and misogyny persist. This is especially true in African contexts, where feminist views are often imposed from the Global North within structures of power and bureaucracy.
Feminism is a complicated and sometimes uncomfortable topic—not just for African women. It can be seen as an enemy, a Western import, or even as hatred toward men. However, as the book unfolds, it becomes clear that feminism in all its forms is essential to dismantle patriarchy.
Paradoxical Questions
Salami uses paradoxical questions throughout the book—questions that reflect opposing facts or characteristics—to challenge the reader’s thinking. For example, the book’s title itself asks a paradoxical question.
This technique echoes Afro-feminist voices like Sojourner Truth, who in 1851 in Ohio declared at a women’s rights convention:
Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me
any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and
gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman?
One question that stood out to me was: Who are Africans? Is it only those born on the continent? Are African descendants in the UK, USA, Caribbean, or Brazil still African? What about Arabs and Egyptians?
This reminded me of Peter Tosh’s 1977 song African from the album Equal Rights, where he sings:
Don’t care where you come from
As long as you’re a black man
You’re an African
No mind your nationality
You have the identity of an African
As a child, I asked my mother this question repeatedly whenever I heard that song. Today, if someone asks me if I am African, I say yes.
Once, a friend expressed that Moroccans are not African. I asked why. The answer was: they are Arab.
Salami uses such paradoxical questions to push readers beyond binary thinking. The goal is not to find right or wrong answers but to dismantle assumptions, combine historical knowledge with current realities, and build new and deeper understandings.
Superiorism
Salami coins the term Superiorism in the second chapter to describe the combined forces of ‘patriarchy and neocolonial hegemonic systems’. Superiorism aims to control ‘Others’ who differ from ‘Them.’
This is not a new phenomenon. Europe, Canada, Australia, and the USA—the Global North—have long perceived themselves as superior. Today, this manifests in geopolitical control and cultural dominance.
Salami asks: What does Superiorism mutate into when challenged? Reflecting on this, I see it expressed in war, fashion, academia, policies, physical appearance, genocide, and more.
Unpacking
Can Feminism Be African? is a provocative work that touches on the complex realities faced by Afro-descendant individuals and communities worldwide.
Feminism cannot succeed without understanding context. For example, a project aimed at improving sexual and reproductive rights must start with a baseline understanding of the local community. Feminist frameworks developed in the Global North cannot simply be unpacked and applied elsewhere without understanding culture, environment, socio-political conditions, and more.
If we want to critique patriarchy effectively, we must start from home. Salami critiques many African leaders who embody toxic masculinity or align with power and superiority, forgetting history and heritage.
The book speaks to our current global moment, showing how systems of power and superiority continue to shape Africa through the ongoing dynamics of master-slave, oppressor-oppressed, colonizer-colonized, and ‘Them-Others’.
Salami’s message is clear: we must decolonize, unpack, deconstruct, and unlearn. Only then can we rebuild, reimagine, and learn new ways forward.
This book is not just for feminists; it’s essential reading for anyone seeking to understand imperialism, neoliberalism, and superiority today. We need to invent new narratives to downsize patriarchy.
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