Gender Balancing: Tellthatstory Empowers Women in African Storytelling

By Usman Aliyu

Benin, March 26, 2024 (NAN) In a bid to amplify women’s voices and perspectives in storytelling within the creative industry, Tellthatstory, a non-governmental media initiative is empowering female artists to strengthen their storytelling techniques.

At an event organised by the group in Benin, Mr Imafidon Edgar, Co-host of Tellthatstory, emphasised the importance of narratives that reflect the diverse experiences of individuals in Africa.

He noted that the current storytelling landscape is often dominated by male voices, leading to a narrow representation of culture and society.

Through this initiative, he said creative women were invited to take ownership of their narratives and shape the future of storytelling in Africa.

Also Read: Group builds capacity of artists on creative storytelling

According to him, the movement seeks to empower women in the creative industry to share stories that resonate with a broader audience and offer fresh insights into the realities faced by individuals across Africa.

“In a bid to do some form of gender balancing with regard to creatives generally and shaping narratives, that has led us to this event.

“It is basically a coordinated event for female creatives around; so that they will own and build a beautiful narrative for themselves going forward and largely in a male dominated industry that their own version will be heard too on global issues.

Also Read: Reject Bill To Regulate Social Media, SERAP Tells Akpabio, Abbas

“For instance our culture, it’s largely male dominated and it is told from that point of view. So this is more like them owning it and shaping them going forward,” he said

Edgar said the event was organised to provide them with visibility as well as encouraging a community.

“For instance, a number of them are meeting here for the first time so that community building is there and then they share and learn from one another,” said the co-host.

Also Read: Tottenham Sacks Coach, Nuno Espirito, Set to Hire Conte

The women photographers and visual storytellers, who spoke at the event, encouraged the participants to be active in the creative industry and synergise with their fellow female creatives to strengthen their skills.

According Taiwo Aina, a Lagos-based photographer, it may look difficult in the beginning, it is, however, promising in the end.

Similarly, Chidinma Nnorom identified cultural background and societal expectations as some of the factors responsible for gender imbalance in the creative world.

She noted, however, that the challenges are surmountable with passionate and committed creative women. NAN