The Nahmias Cipher Report

The Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speaks about the traditions of a single story framed by prejudice, stereotypes, and misinformation. The author of “Half of a Yellow Sun” (2006), she has several other notable books, short stories, plays and poem anthologies under her belt, but this presentation transcends continents, cultures, and class. View the video here.

10 July 2011 – Last year we reported on Land Grabs in Ethiopia and earlier this year we featured a post on Neo-Colonialism in Africa. Yesterday, South Sudan became an independent country poised to become the 193rd member of the United Nations.  Simultaneous to its creation representatives from multinational corporations have begun to pour into [...]

2face Idibia sings a wonderful anthem to the beauty of African women in his anthem song “You Are My African Queen.” It is a video that resonates with me and I am sure it will with you as well.

Not only are each of us unique but the women of Africa are vastly under represented in terms of beauty and strength because the Western media typically highlights the struggle and wretchedness of the lives of these women and their children.

Though this is a reality in many parts of Africa, the women of Africa a nonetheless striking, strong, incredibly diverse, intriguing and enchanting. The African beauties most familiar to Western cultures are the Nilotic women from Ethiopia, Eritrea or Somalia. Woman like Iman and Liya Kebede who grace the runways and covers of Eurocentric magazines.

“A woman’s fate is determined by men and women who play God. Her first gift is a doll-named-Baby with which she rehearses home maker, wife and mother. She is groomed to be a ‘proper woman’ — the silent one when the men are talking. All these in preparation for her husband’s house; is that not where all ‘good’ women end? A woman’s worth is defined first by her father, then her husband and last by the children she bears. She’s more blessed if she bore boys. If it’s a girl child, irrespective of her career success, she has to follow her mother’s steps. A ‘good woman’ doesn’t break the cycle! That’s not all, these ‘inequality gods’ add spice to her lifespan with other tough stops like the lack of freedom of choice; gender discrimination; rape and assaults of all kind. A woman should not allow these ‘inequality gods’, be they spiritual, economic, political or social, to script her life and that of her daughters.” ~ Temitayo O, Nigeria

Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua, whose election marked the country’s first peaceful transition of power from one civilian to another, has died with his wife Turai at his side following a debilitating illness that sparked a leadership crisis in Africa’s most populous country.

Nigeria’s Taliban clash with government police and the escalating violence has resulted in over 700 deaths. An international news channel has posted graphic video of Tuesday’s purported execution of seven unarmed men. Watch here.

Have you ever seen gorgeous, impossibly intricate head wraps and wondered how these beautiful, exotic women fashioned them? Well, when I was a child in Nigeria, these were my very thoughts until Mama Nyiyi taught my mother and aunt how to wrap the “Gele” as this Yoruba head wrap is named.

The Gele goes beyond mere head covering, these wraps are creations of art. This post also contains an instructional video on how to properly wrap the Gele.

2009 Ethiopian & Diaspora music videos featuring artists from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. Check it out!

Cattle for wives. The plight of a daughter when an expat goes rogue.