Skip to content
HerStory AFRICA
HomeWomenTimelineArticlesOpportunitiesFavoritesAbout
Women · By cause
A collection · 5 women · 5 countries

African women who defended cultural identity

5 women in the archive worked for cultural identity. They came from different countries and different centuries, but each of them saw a wrong that others accepted and set out to change it.

Start here

Three women to meet first

Portrait of Adelaide Casely-Hayford, Sierra Leone
Colonial · Sierra Leone · 1868–1960Adelaide Casely-HayfordSierra Leonean educator, Pan-Africanist and women's rights advocate who founded a vocational school for girls at a…
Portrait of Assia Djebar, AlgeriaModern
Assia DjebarAlgeria · 1936–2015
Portrait of Sara Forbes Bonetta, NigeriaColonial
Sara Forbes BonettaNigeria · 1843–1880
All 5

A to Z

Sorted by name
A
Portrait of Adelaide Casely-Hayford
Adelaide Casely-Hayford Sierra Leone · 1868–1960
Portrait of Assia Djebar
Assia Djebar Algeria · 1936–2015
B
B
Brenda Fassie South Africa · 1964–2004
S
Portrait of Sara Forbes Bonetta
Sara Forbes Bonetta Nigeria · 1843–1880
U
Portrait of Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum Egypt · 1898–1975
Other causes
Women's rights48 women Education32 women Women's leadership31 women Human rights19 women Political leadership17 women Sovereignty & independence17 women Political rights15 women Anti-colonial activism14 women
HerStory AFRICA

The women history forgot to teach you.

Explore

All womenTimelineArticlesOpportunitiesAboutSuggest a woman

Browse

West AfricaEast AfricaSouthern AfricaCentral AfricaNorth AfricaAll women A to Z

Contact

hello.herstoryafrica@gmail.com TikTok @herstoryafrica Instagram @herstoryafrica_ Facebook @herstoryafriq

Stay in the loop

New stories of remarkable African women, straight to your inbox.

© 2026 HerStory Africa. An educational project.

Built with care for the women who came before us.