What if Africa is refusing to develop?
This unsettling question lies at the heart of Axelle Kabou’s groundbreaking 1991 book, written originally in French and never translated into English — perhaps because of how provocative it remains.
In Et si l’Afrique refusait le développement?, the Cameroonian author challenges the comforting narratives of victimhood and dependency, urging Africans — especially the elites — to take full ownership of their continent’s destiny.
In this episode, we unpack Kabou’s bold ideas, her critique of postcolonial stagnation, and the deeper question of what true self-determined progress might look like for Africa.
Tune in now to explore the nuances and legacy of What if Africa is refusing to develop?
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00:00 Intro
01:25 Book Intro and background
04:38 The Author
09:13 The main themes
13:34 So why is Africa underdeveloped according to AK?
24:25 The signs of the refusal of development
40:30 The Promise of a Decomplexed Africa… Deferred
51:53 Outro
In this episode, we turn our gaze to one of Africa’s most powerful literary voices, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and her book Dream Count.
This moving work follows four African women — Chia, Omelogor, Zikora, and Kadiatou — each navigating love, ambition, migration, and the harsh weight of injustice. Their stories intertwine into a tapestry of sisterhood, solidarity, and survival.
Adichie herself has said: “Women are socialized with the aim of rivaling and hating one another. That is why, when their relationships are sincere and deep, they resemble acts of courage, of resistance. Revolutionary acts.”
Join us as we explore these revolutionary acts of friendship, and the dreams that sustain — and sometimes betray — the women who carry them.
Here are the resources mentioned in the episode:
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[Spoiler Alert: This content contains major plot details from the book]
00:00 Intro
01:26 Book Intro and synopsis
08:30 The Author
11:55 Background & motivation for writing the book
18:16 The main themes
20:58 The “African woman’s voice”
22:05 Sisterhood
23:46 Love and partnership
26:30 Motherhood
37:11 Physical pain that women endure and that is ‘taken for granted’
42:45 Sexual violence and justice for women
48:39 To be an African
51:51 Musings around the question of slavery
56:40 Outro
In this episode we take you through Dreams of Trespass - Tales of a Harem Girlhood by the Moroccan author Fatima Mernissi. The book is a memoir that whispers, questions, and gently dismantles the walls — both visible and invisible — that shape identity, womanhood, and belonging.
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You can find the New York Times article on Fatima Mernissi here: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/world/middleeast/fatema-mernissi-a-founder-of-islamic-feminism-dies-at-75.html#:~:text=Fatema%20Mernissi%2C%20a%20Moroccan%20sociologist,her%20literary%20agent%2C%20Edite%20Kroll.
00:00 Intro
01:44 Book Intro and synopsis
05:53 The Author
10:24 Background and title
11:56 The main themes
18:18 What is a harem ?
29:17 Feminist momentum
47:17 Education
55:44 On identity and cultural blending in Morocco
01:06:35 Outro
In this episode we dive into Terre Ceinte, the powerful novel by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr—an exploration of violence, freedom, and resistance in the face of extremism, an extremism too often, rightly or wrongly, associated with Islam.
[Spoiler Alert: This content contains major plot details from the book]
00:00 Intro
03:10 The author, the title, and the meaning of Kalep
15:42 The main themes
18:21 Writing as a tool for liberation
26:13 The nature of human society
29:31 The maternal figures
36:16 Outro
If you want to dive deeper into the haunting world of Terre Ceinte, we invite you to check this reading session of the book by RFI (in French) https://youtu.be/yAqKKemM8U0?si=9jTsSl-RD3qmefOo
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