LOOK AT ME! LISTEN TO ME! UNLEARNING THE COLONIAL NARRATIVE OF THE AFRICAN GIRL THROUGH HERSTORIES OF THE LIFE EXPERIENCES OF ONE KENYAN GIRL

Abstract

In challenging the western myths, mistakes, and stereotypes that are grounded in coloniality and misrepresent the African girl, this research presents herstories of the lived experiences of one Kenyan girl. In addressing the dearth of information in scholarly works concerning the African girl, herstories are put forward using the voice of a Kenyan girl, not “restoried” and not retold in the third person. A theoretical framework of decoloniality and African feminisms confronts the colonial discourse that uses tropes to create images of vulnerable girls, victimized by an uncivilized environment and suffering from hunger, poverty, and a lack of education whose only hope is the “western savior.” Drawing on Storyworlding, a new feminist methodology with a future-oriented way of thinking, one Kenyan girl and I collaborate to generate herstories, giving rise to a new identity of the African girl and shattering the web of coloniality that has enveloped her. By viewing her as an “ordinary” girl whose voice has been ignored and who has been misrepresented globally, we open new spaces for being and thinking about ourselves and others.