Her Media Diary

Charlotte Mugabe is an author and mental health advocate from Botswana. She is the author of Living Beyond Anxiety, a self-published book documenting her personal journey through anxiety disorder. After studying journalism, driven by her passion for writing and storytelling, Charlotte transitioned into the banking sector, drawn by the fast-paced environment and the opportunity to engage with diver...

Selam Abdella is a researcher at the Global Center on AI Governance and co-author of research exploring what it would take to flip the narrative on AI in the Global South. She argues that the constraints African countries face are not just obstacles, but potential strategic advantages. Selam has spoken at UN Women and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative's policy dialogue series on generative A...

Aunnab is a young Sudanese journalist who entered journalism only a few years ago, meaning that conflict has been the backdrop of her entire professional career from the very beginning. Born and raised in Khartoum, she comes from a family shaped by decades of displacement. Her maternal grandmother fled South Sudan's war in the 1960s and 70s, while her father was displaced from Western Sudan in 200...

Elvine Tina Ouma is a journalist, podcaster, and curator of Kenya's first feminist magazine. She is the host of the Feminist Spark podcast and has published across Women's Media Centre, The Elephant, Minority Africa, African Women in Media's AWiNews platform, The Nation, The Star, and Potentash Africa. As a recent fellow on gender and AI reporting, Elvine spent six months investigating how artific...

Titilope Fadare-Oparinde is a multimedia journalist and founder of Generative AI Journalism with Titi, an initiative dedicated to helping African journalists integrate artificial intelligence into their workflows ethically and creatively. In this episode, Titi shares her journey from a Lagos-born journalist curious about both print and broadcast media to becoming a leading voice in AI literacy for...

Melanie Keita is the co-founder and CEO of Melanin Kapital, a digital bank focused on financing Africa's green economy. Born and raised in France, Melanie built a career in sustainable finance across Europe and Africa, working with the United Nations in Kenya and the German fund Finance in Motion. Her work spans corporate finance, sustainable development, and impact investing, with a focus on agri...

Mbanangwa Kwilasya is a compliance expert, data protection specialist, and founder of MK Legal Consultancy. She played a pivotal role in drafting Malawi's Data Protection Act, which came into force in 2024. Her work spans financial services, fintech, anti-money laundering regulations, and AI governance. As a consultant with the African Union Development Agency, she focuses on ethical AI developmen...

Eastina Taylor-Tucker is the president of Women in News Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL), a seasoned broadcaster and advocate who has worked with BBC Media Action and stands at the center of one of West Africa's most significant press freedom cases in recent years. A 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow,Eastina has spent her career challenging structural inequalities in newsrooms and fighting for the safety...

Adanna Adindu is a content strategist, SEO expert, and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) specialist who helps brands transition from invisibility to visibility in the digital space. As a self-described "abnormal Gen Z," she combines classical sensibilities with cutting-edge digital expertise, working remotely from Nigeria for international clients across B2B SaaS, iGaming, medical tourism, fintech,...

In this special episode, Dr Yemisi Akinbobola takes listeners behind the scenes of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), held at the United Nations headquarters in New York in March 2025. Dr Yemisi opens with a striking moment from day one, where WABC TV anchor Sade Baderinwa reminded the delegates that when justice fails, women pay the price. But the most powerful int...

Zain Verjee is the founder and CEO of the Zain Verjee Group, a communications advisory firm transforming how organizations tell stories in Africa and beyond. As a former CNN anchor and correspondent, she covered major global events and interviewed world leaders. Today, she is also co-founder of The Rundownb Studio, where she helps storytellers and newsroom leaders leverage AI responsibly in modern...

Binaifer Nowrojee is the president of the Open Society Foundations, the world's largest private funder dedicated to advancing human rights, equity, and justice. She is an international human rights lawyer whose career spans strategic litigation, advocacy, research, and philanthropy across Africa and Asia Pacific. Earlier in her career, she investigated sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide w...

Charity Nafula is a queer feminist, certified accountant, podcaster, and passionate advocate for digital dignity. As the Executive Director of Queer Prism 256, Charity uses podcasting and art to amplify the everyday lives of marginalized women in Uganda, creating intentional safe spaces for queer women to share their stories without fear of judgment or exposure. In this episode, Dr Yemisi Akinbobo...

Subscribe and follow Her Media Diary on all your favorite podcast platforms. Tune in via our partner radio stations across Africa, and join the ongoing conversation using #HerMediaDiary. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Uncomfortable Questions We Need to Ask 00:00:14 Who Protects Women in Media? Safety and Consequences 00:00:20 Representation and Solutions: Who Decides Our Stories? 00:00:34 Mee...

Moky Makura is the Executive Director of Africa No Filter, a donor collaborative working to shift stereotypical narratives about Africa through storytelling, research, and advocacy. With a rich career spanning media, philanthropy, and narrative change, Moky has dedicated decades to challenging the single story told about the continent. In this episode, Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola sits down with Moky to...

Recorded live at the African Women in Media 2025 Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this special episode explores the critical theme of investing in local media and journalism, with a particular focus on the MacArthur Foundation's On Nigeria Programme. Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola is joined by three remarkable women whose work spans policy, community accountability, and local journalism: Fatima Mohamme...

Neema Iyer is the founder of Pollicy, an innovative feminist civic technology collective in Kampala that combines data, design, and digital rights. Under her leadership, Pollicy has led 100+ projects, trained 5,000+ individuals in data skills, and created playful civic tools like “Digital Safe‑tea” and “Choose Your Own Fake News”. In 2021, she was appointed to Facebook/Meta’s Global Women’s Safety...

Farah Fortune is the founder & Managing Director of African Star Communications, a full-service PR agency, focusing on customized strategic public relations campaigns. Farah, dubbed ‘The Pitbull in Heels’, established her PR agency in 2008 with just R1,000, a laptop, and a phone, and is the brain behind some of the continent’s most iconic brand and celebrity campaigns. In this episode, Farah talks...

Fatima Jones is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. With a career spanning over 20 years in public relations, marketing, and communications, predominantly in the nonprofit and arts sectors, her specialty lies in positioning cultural institutions in ways that not only increase visibility but also ensure they are culturally relevant, inclusive, and reflecti...

Stephanie Busari is the founder and CEO of SBB Media, an organisation dedicated to ensuring that Africa's stories are authored, owned, and told by those who understand its soul. She is also an Emmy Award-winning journalist and Former Head of Africa digital team at CNN. In April 2016, she exclusively obtained the “proof of life” video showing that the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls. This footage was...

Deborah is a PhD Candidate at Universität des Saarlandes (Germany), researching fair machine learning to reduce bias against marginalized groups. Prior to her PhD, she was a Lecturer in Data Science & AI at the Academic City University College, Accra, Ghana. She is also the co‑founder of Women Promoting Science to the Younger Generation (WPSYG), an organisation supporting more girls into STEM and...

Mwende is the Co-convener of the AI Salon by Webworks, with expertise in AI ethics, data journalism, ethnographic research, and dataset building. She also specialises in critiquing models and systems for bias, and teaching media and institutions how to adapt to AI in a meaningful and responsible manner. In this episode, she joins us to talk about tech-facilitated GBV, the risks of AI-generated har...

Dr. Grace Githaiga is the CEO at KICTANET and a visionary leader with over 20 years of expertise in ICT policy advocacy. She spearheads progressive advocacy for inclusive ICT policies on data protection, cybersecurity, gender, accessibility, and civic digital rights. In this episode, she joins us to unpack what feminist digital justice really means in the age of AI, and why we must act now to make...

Sandra Aceng is a human rights defender and digital rights advocate from Uganda. She is also the Executive Director of Women of Ugandan Network (WOUGNET), an organization that engages in research, policy advocacy, and capacity-building programs to ensure gender inclusivity in Uganda’s digital landscape. In this episode, Sandra discusses her personal journey into activism, the digital realities fac...

In this special episode recorded live at the AWiM24 Conference in Dakar, Senegal, Dr Yemisi had the honour of speaking with four phenomenal women who have spent decades shaping African journalism: Dr. Lilian Okonkwo-Ogabu, Angela Agoawike, Ekong Uduak, and Ireti Bakare-Yusuf. These are women who have walked through fire, navigating tough newsrooms, evolving technologies, political pressures, and s...