[It] is all about the African woman, her beauty and how she makes herself beautiful. An African woman is therefore not to be messed up with or looked down upon because she’s feminine. Even though she’s beautiful, she’s strong and has a sense of pride.

I think a new African woman is confident, assertive, brave, proud and ready to accomplish anything in any field. And the current generation, unlike in the past, have an added advantage of real-life inspirational examples of women who have achieved so much.

I believe the new African woman is a woman who respects her man and knows that the man is the head of the family, but doesn’t lose herself in that either but commands and demands respect in her own way.

I survived as a woman where men dominated because my people were supportive of women. In so many places in the world, there is an assumption that African women are the most oppressed. It is not true, we are not! At least not all. As an Akan, Fante woman, I grew up in a society where there was not much discrimination against girls. That is why I could be a writer and nobody could tell me writing was a man’s job. I had to go to University to be told by someone that I speak and do other things like a man. My regret is that we Ghanaian girls are not using the freedom we have inherited, and men are now moving in to colonise us.

As African women, we don’t have to live up to other people’s expectations. We too can question the status quo

I am an African woman. I am also a Nigerian woman. We grew up with multi-tasking. You learn to know how to work it out.

I am always fighting against the stereotype of the subservient female maiden. I want to shake up the assumptions about being a Chinese-American woman. We all must champion women’s and children’s rights in the world. The little brown girl is still the most vulnerable person in the room.

If I look at the women in my family – my mother, my aunties, cousins and friends – I see strength; strength of character, and the power of vision. The African woman is strong, bold, driven and an incredible multi-tasker. I say this, not because it’s a cliché, but because it is true. From the Tomato farms in Kano Nigeria, to the tea plantations in Kericho, Kenya, from politics, to business and civil society, women are putting in the work and are achieving great results. If I even speak from a personal perspective, the women within my network are focused, and are making consistent, measurable impact in all fields of endeavour.

In so many places in the world, there is an assumption that African women are the most oppressed. It is not true, we are not! At least not all.

I am a strong African woman. I am beautiful, intelligent and I’m a go-getter. I am determined to make the difference

Wow. We have so many young women and people around the world and around Africa that I come across and I also look up to them. A New African Woman is strong and is at the top of her game in informing and shaping the future of Africa on every level: economically, politically, environmentally, because we are there in all these fields. It is also about African women’s rights and aspirations. African women are closing the gap between the realities of today and our aspirations for tomorrow.

“A man will never put me in a position where I’m silent anymore. I know my worth, I know who I am and I know what I'm capable of, and besides that, we're not in a century anymore where women remain silent. In Africa, women are supposed to submit to their men once they’re married, but you need to remember that you have a voice. Women need to know their rights.

I write about the little happenings of everyday life . Being a woman and African born, I see things through an African woman’s eyes. I chronicle the little happenings in the lives of the African women I know. I did not know that by doing so I was going to be called feminist.

I believe African women are burdened by the weight of patriarchy, misinterpretation of religious tenets and a culture that has refused to grow beyond the Stone Age.