What can African women's magazines tell us about
women's aspirations?
While African leaders this week lined up to stress their
commitment to female empowerment at the African Union
(AU) summit, magazines aimed at African women have
been putting out empowerment messages for some time.
Successful women are always profiled as role models. The
magazines tackle serious topics such as migration and child
brides but they are also full of glamour, recipes and
relationship advice.
What's trending?
High-quality pan-African glossies portray the modern
African woman as strong and proud of her heritage. New
African Woman and its French edition Femme Africaine say
they "offer intelligent, meaningful and inspirational features
and news in areas that embrace and celebrate the African
woman's diverse accomplishments and aspirations".
With 164,000 likes on Facebook, the English edition kept a
running commentary on Angelina Jolie's speech about
violence against women at the African Union summit in
Johannesburg.
Like its competitors, AfroElle , Glam Africa and many others,
the magazine mixes high-fashion glamour with features on
powerful African women.
"Afro-Chic" and "Africa Rising" are commonly-used terms.
The magazines, often printed in Europe, are as popular with
the African diaspora as they are on the continent. Rich lists
and power lists are popular but features also address
tragedies like the Chibok girls who were kidnapped by Boko
Haram militants in Nigeria.
Crowded market
Here is a guide to five of Africa's leading women's
magazines.
Senegal: ACTU'ELLE
Senegal's thriving magazine scene counts the high-quality
Actu'elle magazine as one of its best. It is produced in Paris
and last month carried a feature about the deaths of African
migrants in the Mediterranean. "They take this long perilous
journey in search of Eldorado, but it is disenchantment for
most," the article says.
May's edition also profiles women's groups working to
inspire other women in urban and rural areas. An article on
abortion says 50% of illegal abortions are carried out by
women who have been raped. It calls for harsher sentences
for those found guilty of raping minors.
Ads for beauty products, shoes and handbags, resemble
high-end Western magazines like Vogue . The style editor's
advice on what to wear is that: "This summer will be white".
(There are only two seasons in Senegal - the rainy season
and the dry season).
There is also advice on how to gain weight. It says eat
more, exercise and avoid getting stressed.
Some African women feel they are too skinny and want to
gain weight. This is nothing to do with a different concept of
beauty a previous generation of Africans used to have - that
curvier women are more beautiful and healthier. Nowadays
many urban African women, like their sisters elsewhere,
want to be fit and slim.
Nigeria: GENEVIEVE
In West Africa, gossip about Nigerian "Nollywood" celebrities
is popular in magazines. There are magazines on women in
finance, women's health as well as religious magazines.
In this crowded sector, Genevieve is one of the leading
women's titles. It was launched in 2003 to inspire
"wholesomeness in all women and the men in their lives".
The latest edition discusses the "Becoming Financially
Fearless" workshop the magazine hosted.
Djibouti: MARWO
The Kenyan Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong'o is a hot
favourite in African magazines. Djibouti's Marwo magazine
profiled her in its April edition, before she became the face
of the Lancome beauty range. The same edition had a
special focus on the youth in Djibouti. Articles talked about
the new generation of wealthy young heirs, how young
people spend their leisure time and what dreams they have
for the future.
Marwo is also distributed in Belgium and Canada and one
interviewee told the magazine that the diaspora had a
responsibility to contribute to the development of Africa. A
young woman said she dreams of getting into politics "to
help develop our young country".
An inspirational story tells of a successful entrepreneur who
started off as a cleaner at the US embassy. The magazine
said: "She embodies the new Djibouti that is modern and
global."
South and East Africa: TRUE LOVE and MOVE!
South Africa's weekly Move! targets ordinary women but
competes successfully with international titles like
Cosmopolitan and Homes and Gardens. It is one of the
highest-selling women's weeklies in the country. "We strive
to educate and empower young black women while
entertaining them at the same time," the magazine says.
Stories include scandals about local personalities, tips for
successful living and religious advice. "I must get this copy,"
one reader said on Move!'s Facebook page in mid-June.
True Love , the iconic South African title, launched an East
African edition in Nairobi in 2010, amid talk in Kenya that it
was trying to promote South African lifestyles which may be
beyond the means of many Kenyans. The edition has
embraced a Kenyan outlook and has created a cosy
relationship with readers.
It runs a book club where editors can meet readers who
want to review books. It uses ordinary people rather than
models on its covers and says it is "especially tailored to fit
the dynamic lifestyles both contemporary career women and
homemakers experience".
The June 2015 issue of True Love East Africa interviews
famous TV couple Lulu Hassan and Rashid Abdalla. Their
love story is told with intimate revelations about their
relationship. It leaves women readers hoping to find
similarly supportive men.
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