Global Citizen via brooklynstreetart all photos courtesy © YZ

The history of female combatants is largely untold. It’s veiled in mythology, or lost from historical remembrance. No one argues that women haven’t fought in wars – they clearly did -- but how, and to what extent? That is the focus of French street artist YZ (pronounced eyes) Yseult’s latest creative endeavor entitled “Amazones” – a tribute to the nineteenth century Dahomey women militants. Working in Senegal, TZ is pasting Amazon warriors onto local shops in her newest installation work.

Global Citizen via brooklynstreetart all photos courtesy © YZ

YZ gained global attention for her street art Open Your Eyesin 2003, and continues to use art as a medium to resurrect history. “Amazones” pastes photographs of warrior women printed on large-format rice paper to the walls of female-run shops in Senegal. The artist believes that by placing the Amazon women warriors on the exterior walls of Senegalese women businesses and cafés, she is creating a parallel between the past the present, emphasizing and honoring female strength.

Global Citizen via brooklynstreetart all photos courtesy © YZ

YZ’s artistic process began from a personal place: research on her family’s enslavement. While reviewing historical documents of her own lineage, she discovered the West African Amazon women of Dahomey. The Amazon women, a group shrouded in myth, were an all-female militia, hand selected by King Dahomey, to fight in the First Franco-Dahomean War of 1890s. The women chosen for battle were brave, strong, and indefatigable, helping to champion the Kingdom of Dahomey against French colonization.

Global Citizen via brooklynstreetart all photos courtesy © YZ

YZ seeks through her project to pay homage to the Amazons' critical role in the Western African battle against colonization. Hoping that by presenting females revolutionaries, intellectuals, and guerrillas that have impacted African history, she will spark inspiration for women to keep fighting – in their own lives, in the lives of their communities, in the lives countries.

Global Citizen via brooklynstreetart all photos courtesy © YZ

In a quote drawn from YZ’s website and translated from French, she writes, in portraying powerful women from the past, “These are the women changing the world that carry me.”

Global Citizen via brooklynstreetart all photos courtesy © YZ

Global Citizen via brooklynstreetart all photos courtesy © YZ


From Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party”to Hannah Wilkes' provocative sculptures and performance art, female artists have a powerful ability to shake gender dynamics and question silenced history. Street art, like YZ’s, is an amazing way to get new concepts to the public. Despite the legal implications of graffiti (if you become so inspired, make sure you get permission to start your public work), I love stumbling upon a beautifully done, politically sensitive piece of street art.

How do you think art can help transform the political environment as we – global citizens – campaign for the eradication of extreme poverty by 2030? Does art have a place in activism? From my perspective – it’s a resounding yes!

Additional work by YZ Yasiet, her Amazone warriors, and the photos used for this article can be found at or at her personal site.

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Kathleen Ebbitt

Editorial

Demand Equity

Resurrection of the Dahomey Amazons

By Former Global Citizen Staff Writer