Women volunteers rewrite history through digital knowledge campaigns

Women across Africa are driving efforts to close the gender gap in online information, with volunteers creating and translating content to amplify women’s stories.

The contributors, drawn from Kenya, Nigeria, Benin and other countries, are part of a global campaign to improve representation of women in digital spaces.

Despite the internet’s vast reach, women’s achievements remain underrepresented in many online resources.

Wikipedia, one of the most visited websites globally, mirrors this disparity, with systemic gaps in content about women in historical records and published sources.

Carol Mwaura, a Kenyan librarian, is among those addressing the imbalance.

With over 2,000 edits across Wikimedia projects, Mwaura creates and improves articles on Kenyan women while translating content into Swahili, a language spoken by 95 per cent of Kenyans.

“Knowledge is power, and women’s stories deserve to be part of the digital record,” says Mwaura.

Mwaura is also helping organise Wikimania 2025, an annual conference bringing together digital volunteers globally.

In Nigeria, Goodness Ignatious, known by her username “Olugold,” has made over 16,000 edits and created more than 800 articles, many in the Igbo language.

She organises workshops to train volunteers, expanding content on women’s achievements and local issues.

Benin’s Agbenomba Abigaïl, with over 9,000 contributions and 270 articles on French Wikipedia, uses digital platforms to promote gender equality.

Under her leadership, a local WhatsApp group created 660 articles and improved over 1,150 pages.

“These volunteers are helping digital knowledge platforms reflect the whole world, in all its richness of culture and language. You might not know her, but you might have read her work,” notes Masana Mulaudzi, Wikimedia Foundation’s Senior Manager of Campaign Organising.