Five inspiring women Of Africa quotes to start your day2 minute read

Sometimes you need a little wisdom and guidance from people who’ve been there, done that and thrived. Here are five inspiring quotes from amazing women Of Africa who are making an impact in their fields.

1. “If there’s anyone out there that looks a bit like me, or just feels a little bit out of place just trying to get into performing, you are beautiful; embrace it. You are intelligent; embrace it. You are powerful; embrace it.”
―  Michaela Coel
Actress, screenwriter, creator & star of Chewing Gum.

2. “I wanted to be called Zoe. And so I came home one day and I was like, ‘Mommy, can you call me Zoe?’ And she was cooking and she just stopped and she looked at me and she was like, ‘why?’ And I said because no one can say Uzoamaka. And without skipping a beat she was like, ‘If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky, and Dostoevsky, and #Michelangelo then they can learn to say Uzoamaka.’ And she went right back to cooking and did not stop.”
― Uzo Aduba
Actress & star of Orange Is The New Black. 

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"I wanted to be called Zoe. And so I came home one day and I was like, ‘Mommy, can you call me Zoe?’ And she was cooking and she just stopped and she looked at me and she was like, ‘why?’ And I said because no one can say Uzoamaka. And without skipping a beat she was like, ‘If they can learn to say #Tchaikovsky, and #Dostoevsky, and #Michelangelo, then they can learn to say #Uzoamaka.’ And she went right back to cooking and did not stop.” – Nigerian-American actress Uzo Aduba who plays Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on the hit #Netflix series #OrangeIstheNewBlack. Her full name Uzoamaka means “The road is good.” • • • She has won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014 and 2015. She has also won two #EmmyAwards and is one of only two actors to win an Emmy Award recognition in both the comedy and drama categories for the same role. #uzoaduba #OITNB #OfAfrica #OfAfricaMag #Innovation #Shewhodareswin #Naija #Nigerian #representationmatters #blackgirlmagic #melaninpoppin #blackexcellence #blackimmigrants

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3. “I come from a favela in Brazil, am black, have a poor family and yet, despite all those odds, I became a ballerina.”
― Ingrid Silva
Ballerina.

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“I come from a #favela in Brazil, am black, have a poor family and yet, despite all those odds, I became a ballerina,” – Ingrid Silva • • Ingrid Silva was born in #Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the age of 8, she began her ballet training at Dançando Para Não Dançar, a social project in the #Mangueira slum. The daughter of a domestic worker and a retired Air Force employee, she grew up in Rio de Janeiro''s #Benfica neighborhood, a working-class area. At 19 she moved to the #USA after obtaining a full scholarship to attend the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She became a full-fledge member in 2013. With over 17 years of dance experience and much success, Ingrid never forgets her roots as a fierce and impassioned Afro-Brazilian performer, "I am aware that being a black ballerina, I am breaking through barriers". • • #OfAfrica #Innovation #blackgirlmagic #melaninpopping #ballet #dancing #balletflats #woman #strength #blackballerina #shewhodareswins #riodejaneiro #OfAfricaMag

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4. “Women get treated like objects in South Africa. It’s hard to get taken seriously in the music industry… I am all about woman empowerment, be it in the office, the bedroom or in the home.”
―  Moonchild Sanelly
Singer, songwriter and self-described “advocate for female orgasm.”

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“Women get treated like objects in #SouthAfrica. It’s hard to get taken seriously in the music industry… I am all about woman empowerment, be it in the office, the bedroom or in the home.” – Moonchild Sanelly • • With signature blue hair #Moonchild is a poet, dancer, fashion designer and musical sensation who fuses #experimental electronic, afro-punk and edgy-pop with hints of #kwaito, #hiphop and #jazz. Her lyrics are written in what she calls “Xhonglish”, a mixture of #Xhosa and English. • • She sings and raps about police violence, bedroom politics, the state of South Africa’s justice system and "eating disorders… Back home, all the girls I grew up with suffered from these things. But we only found later when we were older that we were all suffering from it and not talking about it". • #OfAfrica #SouthAfrican #OfAfricaMag #PortElizabeth #EasternCape #Durban #Joburg #Womanist #Feminist #africanfeminist #girlpower #femaleempowerment #Moonchild #MoonchildSanelley #menaretrash

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5. “Being a black woman, we haven’t really been taught how to take care of our natural hair — we’ve only been taught how to hide it…I think hair companies, the media, hairstylists, and the industry itself are to blame. They haven’t made the same efforts to ensure black women are looked after in their most natural form. … I think [the industry] should really take ownership and start to invest into us. Like when the makeup artist pulls out their palette and they’ve got 20 different shades of foundation for a white girl, but only have four ‘darker’ shades… It’s those type of situations that [black models] are put in and not catered to…By constantly challenging and pushing at [these discrepancies] I hope we will eventually make a difference.”
― Duckie Thot
Model & member of the Fenty Beauty family rocking shade #490.

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"Being a black woman, we haven't really been taught how to take care of our natural hair — we've only been taught how to hide it. I think hair companies, the media, hairstylists, and the industry itself are to blame. They haven't made the same efforts to ensure black women are looked after in their most natural form… I think [the industry] should really take ownership and start to invest into us. Like when the makeup artist pulls out their palette and they've got 20 different shades of foundation for a white girl, but only have four 'darker' shades…It's those type of situations that [black models] are put in and not catered to…By constantly challenging and pushing at [these discrepancies] I hope we will eventually make a difference." – Duckie Thot 🇸🇸🇦🇺 • • Nyadak Thot, also known as ~ Duckie ~ was the first of her South Sudanese family to be born and raised in Australia. She rose to fame during Australia’s Next Top Model in the #2013 cycle. #SouthSudan #Australia #AustraliasNextTopModel #ANTM #OfAfrica #Innovation #OfAfricaMag #Duckie #DownUnder #BlackModel #BlackBarbie #barbiehuman #Sudan #south #world #model #blackwomen #blackgirlmagic #melanin #naturalhair #black #fashion #style #fashionindustry #media #equality #inclusion #diveristy #representationmatters @duckieofficial

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Julia Chanda Zvobgo is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ‘Of Africa’. She was born in Zimbabwe and raised in The Netherlands. As an Afropean she is always looking for new and creative ways to “make the invisible, visible”. She is a co-founder and a member of 'ethnovision' a collective of visual anthropologists and filmmakers. Julia also volunteers as the Director of Communications & Development for Tariro House of Hope, an NGO that transforms the lives of children and their communities in Zimbabwe.