Africa Wiki Women boosts African women’s visibility onlineCEFR A2
4 Apr 2026
Adapted from Laura, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Mad Knoxx Deluxe, Unsplash
Africa Wiki Women works to increase African women's visibility on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia platforms. The group grew from concerns about under-representation in the Wikimedia movement. On International Women's Day 2026, Global Voices published an interview with co-founder Ruby Damenshie-Brown.
The project was founded by three women: Ruby Damenshie-Brown from Ghana, Bukola James from Nigeria and Pellagia Njau from Tanzania. Ruby says she joined the Wikimedia community in 2019 and noticed most contributors were men and that less than 20 percent of biographies on English Wikipedia were about women.
Africa Wiki Women runs training, contribution campaigns and mentorship programmes. Since the group began it has trained more than 500 women, and trained participants have created and improved hundreds of articles, including profiles of female leaders and pages about women-led organisations.
Difficult words
- visibility — how easy it is to be seen
- under-representation — when a group has few members or little voice
- co-founder — a person who starts something with others
- contributor — someone who adds content or workcontributors
- biography — a story of a person's lifebiographies
- programme — a planned set of activities or classesprogrammes
- organisation — a group set up for a purposeorganisations
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Why is it important to have more biographies of women on Wikipedia?
- Which kind of article about African women would you like to read or add to Wikipedia?
- Do you know a woman leader who should have a Wikipedia page? Who and why?
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