From Seshat to Nana Asma'u -- A History of African Women’s Spiritual Leadership
Date: April 10, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: PC Theater
Speaker: Dr. Ghislaine Lydon, UCLA
Bio: Ghislaine Lydon (History Department, University of California, Los Angeles) specializes
in the history of African societies and economies before the twentieth century. She
has published on a variety of subjects, from the world of camel caravans to the evolution
of women's rights in Muslim Africa.
Title: From Seshat to Nana Asma'u: A History of African Women's Spiritual Leadership
Description: Across the ages, African women have exercised significant authority in the spiritual
realm. In Pharaonic Egypt, goddesses occupied prominent places within an expansive
pantheon, serving as creators, protectors, and leaders. Over time, however, the prominence
of these divine female figures diminished amid successive periods of foreign rule.
Egypt subsequently became a key center for emerging religious movements, including
the rise of monotheistic traditions. Islam came to shape the spiritual landscape of
the northern half of the African continent, and several remarkable Muslim women assumed
influential roles as religious leaders within their communities. This presentation
traces the evolving contours of women’s spiritual authority, interrogating patterns
of erasure and erosion across a broad sweep of African history.
