(Alimata Ouedraogo, the president of a weavers group in Ponsomtenga, Burkina Faso.)

Nana Kofi Acquah is a photographer, blogger and poet, who identifies as a male feminist. He hopes that his photography, which features diverse images of African women, will shift the narrative surrounding women in Africa. Acquah tells BBC News,

“The most dominant image of the African woman is as a beast of burden, she’s carrying a pot on her head or she’s carrying some firewood on her head, she’s always burdened. I see artists trying to beautify it or glorify it, but that image always depresses me.”

See more work from Nana Kofi Acquah at www.nkaphoto.com. Acquah also contributes to Everyday Africa.

(Ory Okolloh, Kenyan Lawyer, blogger, and activist.)

(From the series “Mosquito Girl.”)

(From the series “Mosquito Girl.”)

(From the series “Bedroom Portraits.”)