It seems shocking: one word evokes disparate concepts. Without applicable synonyms or other semantic tricks, such ambiguity becomes confusing when a dominant group imposes its all-encompassing criterion. A pristine example is feminism. Recognising the equity of rights between women and men should entail adhering to the equality of all of them for their full realisation in all areas. A doctrine inspired in the late 18th century by the frustrations of Olympe de Gouges - a French writer and early abolitionist of the slave trade - ignited in Europe as a political claim and social crusade. The development of the ideal and the denunciation of injustices altered ways of thinking and acting, repealing discriminatory practices, achieving advances that dignified humanity, with women as immediate beneficiaries. Sublime universal principles today transformed into an amalgam of controversies and dissonant banners instrumentalised by epigones of the 'single thought'. It is evident in speeches and demonstrations: all white, when a journey on the metro is enough to see that Europe has ceased to be monochromatic.
'Afroféminas' was born in 2014 to make Afro-descendants visible in Spain and to present "a black feminist perspective" in light of "the double exclusion of being a woman and racialised". This digital platform is founded on the decolonial project, proposing "a re-reading of colonialism represented from a hegemonic position", "changing postcolonial behaviours in society and Spanish traditions", they assert; a necessary own voice as they do not feel represented. The well-known acrimony between African American feminists and 'Caucasian' feminists becomes dissonance between African and European women in various forums. Ndèye Fatou Kane, a Senegalese sociologist and activist, prefers to be considered "African feminist" because feminism "must have surnames", she says.
A seminal work of African (Francophone) feminism is 'La Parole aux Négresse' (1978), by Senegalese anthropologist Awa Thiam. Its innovation: presenting African women as subjects and producers of knowledge, distanced from the "paternalistic" Western view. From a similar formulation, Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor in California and Columbia, coined in 1989 the "intersectionality", a fundamental concept of 'non-hegemonic feminism': a notion not imported, but rooted for centuries in black cultures. Both demand respect for their decisions as adults, even those furthest from the Western mindset. The correct approach would be not to overwhelm, to see the nuances, to respect different perceptions, and to accept diversity.♦