Toward African Feminist Articulations of Joy and Healing: Lessons from Afrocentric self and collective care interventions

Abstract

Due to the varied stresses African feminist activists and practitioners face, the sustainability of their work and, more crucially, their own mental and emotional wellbeing are often put at risk. While there are several international and regional conventions and mechanisms aimed at their protection in the course of their work, these measures often instrumentalise them and view them solely in their capacity as activists, erasing their full humanity. African feminist led self and collective care interventions have sought to adopt a lens that more wholly recognises and addresses their varied needs. The purpose of this study is two-fold: to analyse how well two existing Afrocentric self and collective care interventions are tailored to African feminists and to assess their impact on activists and practitioners. This is done in order to identify lessons on key themes and best practices to guide future programming aimed at self and collective care. The study finds that the interventions translated a decolonial and gendered approach in both theme and practice. It also finds that they had positive impacts for African feminist activists in their personal and professional lives with carry-over effects for those with whom they were connected.