# Demere Kitunga

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**Demere Kitunga** is a [Tanzania](/source/Tanzania)n [feminist](/source/Feminism), [publisher](/source/Publisher), and literacy advocate. She is the co-founder and director of the [non-profit organization](/source/Nonprofit_organization) **Soma**, which works to promote reading and literacy in [Tanzania](/source/Tanzania).

Through Soma, Kitunga established initiatives such as the **Soma Book Café**, which provides a public space for literary events and discussions. She also created **Vavagaa**, a [storytelling](/source/Storytelling) platform that addresses issues of [patriarchy](/source/Patriarchy) and promotes [gender equality](/source/Gender_equality) through community engagement.[1][2]

As a writer, Kitunga contributes to various [literary](/source/Literature) and feminist collectives, including the Kisima cha Mashairi and the Waka Poetry Consortium.[\[1\]](https://africaindialogue.com/2017/05/21/re-imagining-culture-a-dialogue-with-caroline-anande-uliwa/) Her work often addresses themes of [bodily autonomy](/source/Bodily_integrity), [reproductive rights](/source/Reproductive_rights), and societal inequities. Through her advocacy, she supports the development of grassroots movements and initiatives aimed at bridging the [digital divide](/source/Digital_divide).[2][3][4]

## Life and career

Kitunga was born in Tanzania, East Africa. Alongside the late Professor Seithy Loth Chachage, she has four children, including [Mkunde Chachage](/source/Mkunde_Chachage), a medical researcher in Tanzania[5] and [Rehema Chachage](/source/Rehema_Chachage), a visual artist and lecturer at [University of Applied arts, Vienna](/source/University_of_Applied_Arts_Vienna), Austria.[6]

Kitunga has worked in the world of literature as an author, translator, and publisher.[7] In 2007, Kitunga co-founded E&D Readership and Development Agency, also known as *Soma*,[8] a non-profit aimed at encouraging literacy, scholarship, and storytelling in Tanzania. This agency works alongside E&D Vision Publishing,[9][10] where Kitunga has also supported Tanzanian authors. In 2004, she wrote the book *Lupompo and the Baby Monkey*.[11] She continued by translating the book *When Trees Walked* into her native language Swahili.[12] In addition to her literary career Kitunga has also co-written and appeared in research articles and books including: *Reflections on Activism in Africa*[13] (with colleague [Marjorie Mbilinyi](/source/Marjorie_Mbilinyi))***,** On Being Counted: Gender, Property, and "the Family"**,***[14] *and Struggles Over Patriarchal Structural Adjustment in Tanzania*.[15] She has also co-published articles that theorize African Transformative Feminism in Tanzania.[16][17]

## Advocacy

Kitunga is a human rights activist, literary activist, and feminist who promotes reading as a way to educate and empower. Kitunga's agency, "E&D Readership and Development", was founded with a feminist perspective, emphasizing gender equality and cultural upliftment.[18] The organization also prioritizes research to illustrate the importance of reading, writing, and creativity for children in Tanzania. She advocates through mentoring and is a founding member of the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme[19] which promotes gender equality in Tanzania.[20]

## See also

- [Kiswahili literature](/source/Swahili_literature)
- [Elieshi Lema](/source/Elieshi_Lema)
- [Walter Bgoya](/source/Walter_Bgoya)

## References

1. Francis, Lukelo (2023-06-13). ["Vavagaa: A Feminist Storytelling Platform Seeking to Disrupt Tired Narratives - The Chanzo"](https://thechanzo.com/2023/06/13/vavagaa-a-feminist-storytelling-platform-seeking-to-disrupt-tired-narratives/). Retrieved 2024-11-17.

1. ["Demere Kitunga"](http://www.africanfeministforum.com/demere-kitunga/). *African Feminist Forum*. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2024-11-17.

1. ["Demere Kitunga"](https://badilishapoetry.com/demere-kitunga/). *badilishapoetry.com*. 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2024-11-17.

1. ["Cultivating a reading and story writing culture"](https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/magazines/success/-cultivating-a-reading-and-story-writing-culture-2665234). *The Citizen*. 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2024-11-21.

1. ["Mkunde Chachage"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210411153755/http://www.mmrp.org/projects/43-team/mmrc-based-team/144-mkunde). *National Institute for Medical Research Tanzania*. Archived from [the original](http://www.mmrp.org/projects/43-team/mmrc-based-team/144-mkunde) on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2025-03-16.

1. ["CHACHAGE Rehema Seithy"](https://www.akbild.ac.at/en/university/staff/D75A1EC1F3D32F56). *Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien*. Retrieved 2025-03-16.

1. ["A leading feminist’s juggling act as she advocates literacy"](https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/magazines/woman/-a-leading-feminist-s-juggling-act-as-she-advocates-literacy-3340886). *The Citizen*. 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2026-03-23.

1. ["Welcome to Soma… – Soma Book Cafe"](https://www.somabookcafe.com/welcome-to-soma-cafe/). Retrieved 2025-03-21.

1. ["African Books Collective: E&D Vision Publishing Limited"](https://web.archive.org/web/20250119085814/https://www.africanbookscollective.com/publishers/e-d-vision-publishing-limited). *www.africanbookscollective.com*. Archived from [the original](https://www.africanbookscollective.com/publishers/e-d-vision-publishing-limited) on 2025-01-19. Retrieved 2025-03-21.

1. ["E&D Vision Publishers Limited"](https://web.archive.org/web/20250320171444/https://edvisionpublishing.co.tz/about). *edvisionpublishing.co.tz*. Archived from [the original](https://edvisionpublishing.co.tz/about) on 2025-03-20. Retrieved 2025-03-21.

1. Musila, Grace (December 2006). ["Central and East Africa"](https://doi.org/10.1177/0021989406072922). *The Journal of Commonwealth Literature*. **41** (4): 73–89. [doi:10.1177/0021989406072922](https://doi.org/10.1177/0021989406072922). [ISSN 0021-9894](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0021-9894)

1. ["Demere Kitunga"](https://www.barrancapress.com/demere-kitunga). *Barranca Press*. Retrieved 2024-11-18.

1. Hodgson, Dorothy L. (2007). "Reflections on Activism in Africa". *Women's Studies Quarterly*. **35** (3/4): 314–316. Arnfred, Signe (ed.). [ISSN 0732-1562](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0732-1562). [JSTOR 27649722](https://www.jstor.org/stable/27649722)

1. Chung, Youjin B. (2023), ["ON BEING COUNTED: Gender, Property, and "the Family""](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/jj.130884.9), *Sweet Deal, Bitter Landscape*, Gender Politics and Liminality in Tanzania's New Enclosures, Cornell University Press, pp. 90–104, ISBN 978-1-5017-7201-6. [JSTOR 10.7591/jj.130884.9](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591%2Fjj.130884.9), retrieved 2025-03-21

1. Mbilinyi, Marjorie (1993). "Struggles over Patriarchal Structural Adjustment in Tanzania". *Focus on Gender*. **1** (3): 26–29. [doi:10.1080/09682869308519978](https://doi.org/10.1080/09682869308519978). [ISSN 0968-2864](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0968-2864). [JSTOR 4030264](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4030264). [PMID 12320727](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12320727)

1. Kitunga, Demere & Mbilinyi, Marjorie (2009-09-01). ["Rooting Transformative Feminist Struggles in Tanzania at Grassroots"](https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.1080/03056240903211158). *Review of African Political Economy*. **36**: 433. [doi:10.1080/03056240903211158](https://doi.org/10.1080/03056240903211158). [ISSN 0305-6244](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0305-6244)

1. Kitunga, Demere & Mbilinyi, Marjorie (2009-09-01). ["Rooting Transformative Feminist Struggles in Tanzania at Grassroots"](https://doi.org/10.1080/03056240903211158). *Review of African Political Economy*. **36** (121). [doi:10.1080/03056240903211158](https://doi.org/10.1080/03056240903211158). [ISSN 0305-6244](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0305-6244)

1. Aili Mari, Tripp (2017-02-15). ["Women's Rights in Tanzania"](https://books.google.com/books?id=CHxjDgAAQBAJ&dq=E&pg=RA2-PT93). *Women's Activism in Africa: Struggles for Rights and Representation*. Badri, Balghis & Tripp, Aili Mari (eds.). Zed Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78360-911-6.

1. ["TGNP – Tanzania Gender Networking Program"](https://tgnp.or.tz/). Retrieved 2025-03-21.

1. ["A leading feminist's juggling act as she advocates literacy"](https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/magazines/woman/-a-leading-feminist-s-juggling-act-as-she-advocates-literacy-3340886). *The Citizen*. 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2024-11-21.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Demere Kitunga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demere_Kitunga) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demere_Kitunga?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.