yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Meet the Women of Brazzaville, Congo | National Geographic


2m read
·Nov 10, 2024

What does it mean to be an African woman? Well, many things. For the Sapeuses of Brazzaville, Congo, it means dressing up in fabulous fashions, taking on an alter ego that challenges gender conventions and redefines their role in society.

I've spent years documenting the experiences of women across Africa, focusing on themes like our education, sexuality, health, creativity, and self-empowerment. Messani Grace is the leader of Mavula Sape. She's been a Sapeuse for the last three decades, well before women were allowed to join official groups.

Hello! Hi! Thank you for having me. Mama Grace, I'm curious, how did the movement start? The story of La Sape here in Congo started at the end of the Second World War. There were the veterans who left for the war over there. They could see how the French dressed, in culottes, shirts, shoes, colonial helmet. They copied the style from over there.

I find it interesting that part of the movement was taken from the colonial style of dress, but along the way, people started to own it for themselves and said—this is our culture, this is our identity. Initially, there were no Sapeuses, there were only men. When I started dressing in a suit and tie, in the beginning, even I felt embarrassed.

The world of La Sape makes me feel valued. It is a world of respect in places where others cannot easily access it. You are also becoming a Sapeuse. I love it! La Sape represents more than just luxury clothing. It's become a way of life. When I see my mum dress up, it also makes me want to dress like that.

It's rare to see girls at my age become Sapeuses. I am no longer embarrassed. I feel confident to express myself like this. Okay. I love how the women have formed collectives to differentiate themselves and express solidarity. This is how they take control of their own identities and provide a platform and possibilities for other women to do the same.

Female creativity continues to grow across Africa as more and more women take charge, refashioning their roles in society and turning ideas into enterprises. Gambia is known as the smiling coast of Africa. It is the country that inspires my work.

I transform everyday objects into African inspired products. When I have an idea, I talk it through with Kaddija. She understands my work better than anybody else. So sometimes I tell her what I want and she throws in her own ideas too.

DHL services came at a time when we were struggling to send our products abroad to customers as normal process could take months. My creations make me feel proud to be a Gambian and I just want to show Africa to the world.

More Articles

View All
HOW TO PICK A COLOGNE - Scentual Science - Smarter Every Day 125
Hey, it’s me Destin. Welcome back to Smarter Every Day. This is my buddy Ben, and he got a new toy, so we’re gonna try to shoot with this. Just because we want to try it. Show ‘em what it does. Do I have to stand right here? (Ben) Yes. OK, here we go. …
Substitution and income effects and the Law of Demand
In other videos, we have already talked about the law of demand, which tells us—and this is probably already somewhat intuitive for you—that if a certain good is currently at a higher price, then the quantity demanded will be quite low. As the price were…
Introduction to sampling distributions | Sampling distributions | AP Statistics | Khan Academy
What we’re going to do in this video is talk about the idea of a sampling distribution. Now, just to make things a little bit concrete, let’s imagine that we have a population of some kind. Let’s say it’s a bunch of balls; each of them has a number writte…
The Housing Market Is Sinking
What’s up you guys? It’s Graham here. So let’s talk about something that I’m sure most of us have considered in some way or another, and that would be the next housing crash. After all, in the last month, housing prices have continued to hit record high a…
Philosophy for Breakups | BUDDHISM
That breakups can be horrifyingly painful isn’t a secret to people who have gone through one. The amount of suffering some people experience after a breakup is a symptom that something about this situation isn’t quite right. From a Buddhist point of view…
GET PAID TO INVEST IN OIL | Infinite Money Explained
What’s up you guys? It’s Crime here! So, I think we just unlocked the brand-new infinite money glitch because, as of yesterday, April 20th, the price of oil futures went negative. Which means it dropped below zero dollars! That’s right, below zero dollars…