The Femigritude Literary Lab is calling on writers, organizations, sponsors, and allies to join a powerful movement centering African women—particularly young women and girls—as essential voices in literature, healing, and social transformation.
+ +🌍 About the Lab & Our Founder
+ +Initiated by Diweng Mercy Dafong, PhD Candidate, Department of Modern Languages & Classics, The University of Alabama, the Femigritude Literary Lab (FLL) was born from groundbreaking research and direct collaboration with Burkinabè women writers, artists, and intellectuals.
+ +During her first research visit to Burkina Faso, Dafong worked directly with women and girls in refugee camps, partnered with Mots d'Elles (Burkina Faso's national association of female writers), and organized the inaugural Concours d'Écriture Diweng Mercy Dafong—a writing contest that gave young girls a platform to express their experiences, confront crises, and begin healing through creative expression.
+ +Our Mission
+ +The Lab creates spaces where African women use writing as a tool for:
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- Healing and self-reclamation +
- Analyzing lived realities +
- Challenging erasure +
- Envisioning alternative futures +
We believe that in the face of violence, migration, and insecurity, women are not peripheral witnesses or passive victims—they are central thinkers, creators, and architects of survival and societal reconstruction.
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✍️ FOR WRITERS: Submit Your Work
+ +We invite young African women and girls, including high school and university students, to share their creative voices through:
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- Short fiction +
- Essays +
- Poetry +
- Creative nonfiction +
Themes we explore:
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- Migration and displacement +
- Women's roles in crisis and survival +
- Healing and reconstruction +
- Resilience in the face of social challenges +
- Imagining new futures +
📬 How to Submit
+ +Submissions are accepted through our annual themed competitions, including the Concours d'Écriture Diweng Mercy Dafong. Our second edition is expanding to include university students in Burkina Faso and is supported by the Outstanding Service by Graduate Student Award from the Barefield College of Arts & Sciences at The University of Alabama.
+ +👉 Visit: https://sites.google.com/view/femigritude-literary-lab/home for current calls and guidelines.
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🤝 FOR PARTNERS & COLLABORATORS: Get Involved
+ +There are many ways to support and collaborate with the Femigritude Literary Lab:
+ +1. Collaborate Ethically
+Join as a partner or collaborator, centering your involvement on ethical support of young women's creativity and story ownership. We prioritize respect, consent, and empowerment in all collaborations.
+ +2. Participate in Workshops
+Help organize or facilitate workshops and shared creative spaces where young women and girls can heal and reclaim their voices through writing.
+ +3. Support or Sponsor Initiatives
+Provide financial support, resources, or sponsorships to sustain Lab activities, contests, and programming that empower emerging female voices. Our second writing contest already has committed juries, collaborators, and sponsors—join us!
+ +4. Become a Community Partner
+Join organizations like Mots d'Elles (Burkina Faso's national association of female writers) and educational institutions that actively partner with us to organize and expand writing contests and empowerment projects.
+ +5. Amplify Young Voices
+Serve on juries, contribute as a mentor, or help celebrate and promote the work of emerging writers through our competitions and publications.
+ +6. Respect and Celebrate Creativity
+All involvement is rooted in respect for participants' creativity and ownership of their stories, fostering an environment where young women's literary and artistic empowerment can flourish.
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💫 Why Get Involved?
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- Be part of a transformative movement centering African women's voices +
- Support ethical, empowering literary spaces grounded in authentic community engagement +
- Help amplify stories that challenge narratives and imagine new possibilities +
- Connect with a vibrant community of writers, artists, and thinkers across Burkina Faso and beyond +
- Make a real impact on young women's lives through creative expression and research-to-action initiatives +
As Dr. Cheryl Toman, Department Chair and Dafong's advisor, noted: This work is "a model for authentic, impactful fieldwork" that moves beyond scholarship to real-world service and community engagement.
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📖 Read More About Our Story
+ +Learn more about how the Femigritude Literary Lab came to life:
+ 👉 French Student Brings Research to Life with Visit to Burkina Faso - University of Alabama News
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📞 Ready to Join Us?
+Whether you're a writer ready to share your story, an organization seeking ethical partnership, or an individual wanting to sponsor transformative work, we welcome you.
+ +🔗 Learn More & Get Involved:
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- Main Site: https://sites.google.com/view/femigritude-literary-lab/home +
- Get Involved: https://sites.google.com/view/femigritude-literary-lab/get-involved +
- Community Partners: https://sites.google.com/view/femigritude-literary-lab/community-partners +
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🌟 Your Voice Matters. Your Support Matters. Your Partnership Matters.
+ +The Femigritude Literary Lab is more than a literary project—it's a movement building reparative spaces where African women can write themselves into existence, challenge narratives, and create new possibilities.
+ +Join us in centering African women's voices as essential to our collective future.
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+ Femigritude Literary Lab
+ Initiated by Diweng Mercy Dafong, PhD Candidate
+ Department of Modern Languages & Classics, The University of Alabama
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