campaigns

Unmuting the Womb – From Silence to Sovereignty

For too long, conversations around uterine health have been muffled by stigma and silence. This campaign centers the voices of African women and people with uteruses, turning lived experiences into action through storytelling, visual arts, research, and advocacy.

  • Dr. Frances Wurie



    At 24, before meeting her future children's father, this diagnosis sparked fears about fertility. "I started thinking, oh my god, I'm not going to be able to have children."

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  • Ariana Oluwole

    New

    "Last Friday was the first time I said it out loud in public – I no longer have a uterus." Ariana speaks these words with quiet strength, ready at last to share the story of her womb. A story that began with joy at age ten, twisted through years of excruciating pain, and led her finally to radical acceptance.

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  • Hickmatu Leigh

    Coming soon

  • Kumba Kalley

    Coming Soon

  • Mamawa Kaikai

    Coming soon

  • Esther Samura

    Coming soon

  • Mariatu

    Coming Soon

  • Mariama

    Coming soon

  • Kaata Minah

    Coming soon

  • Isata

    Coming soon

  • Hassanatu

    Coming soon

  • Aunty Mummy

    Coming soon

Virtual Exhibition Preview

This 12-part series brings to life the experiences of women in Sierra Leone, capturing their journeys through photo, artwork, storytelling, and sound.

Highlighted Quotes –

Powerful excerpts that capture the essence of the narrative

A Woman's Knowing:
"When my mother was coming into the bush, I used to follow. When she picks the leaf and I asked her, 'Mother, this is for what?' And she said, 'This is for stomach ache. This is for dysentery.' Like sometimes I don't show people that I can do those things. Like when I saw my colleagues or those people I know, I see they are pregnant, pregnancy disturbing them, I will ask one of my daughters, 'You go and pick this leaf for me and bring it.'" 

Isata

All Will Be Well:
"I want a world where our bodies aren't political battlegrounds. Where young girls have baskets of care to carry them through their journeys. Where we can be sexual beings without explanation or shame... All is not well yet, but all will be well. I know there is more to life than what society prescribed for me at birth." 

Mamawa

Aunty Mummy's Medicine:
" When a woman goes to labor, see that labor, it tends to stumble, block. I have a medicine to apply... This is my best place, without gates. I'm leaving here to find medicine. Up here, all over here... When you believe in anything, it shall work. That's why all of them call me Aunty Mummy.'"  

Aunty Mummy

  • The Heat That Never Leaves

    "I tell them straight - you've seen what I've gone through. If you ever have heavy bleeding during your period, tell me immediately. We'll go to the doctor together. I don't want you to become victims like me. Women need to know. This silence around our health problems - it's dangerous." 

    Kumba

  • Loves Labor

    "Don't rush her. Because any single time, that will take it easy. But if you rush, maybe the baby falls. Maybe the baby will deform if you force her. So you have to take time... Like we in Africa, we understand the body, we understand what it needs." 

    Hassanatu

  • Learning to love and let go

    "I've blessed my womb. This long journey brought me to appreciation at last. I am a queen making positive changes. I'm a queen every day of my life - not because of the hard times, but because I deserve all the good in the world. I'm a queen because my story empowers and uplifts others." 

    Ariana

The Path Back:
"You realize that no one is 100% sure they won't find themselves in that position one day. The people here, they are not the ones who took themselves here... At times I just get up and say, 'You gather your things, let's go and do the laundry.' These people become so cheerful." 

Esther

The Weight I Cannot Name:
"It's difficult for me to get up and run. I'm feeling something down here. Too heavy... We started saving. We are going to share out in August. In my darkest moments after losing my child, I contemplated the unthinkable. But I said no... I know I must find a way. I cannot live like this forever. Even when I don't have a solution, I keep going."

Mariatu