All for Aya

While reading Aya, I was immediately taken back to my ninth grade biology class, where we were watching a documentary about Ebola. As the people being interviewed in the documentary began to speak, I was surprised that I recognized some of the things that they were saying. I was learning French at the time, and it was easy to tell that these native African people were speaking it in the documentary.

"They're speaking French," I commented to the boy sitting next to me.

"No, they're speaking African," he replied bluntly, completely shutting me down.

This is when I first realized the preconceived notions many Americans have about Africa. Being such a large continent, you would think that people would be aware of the diversity in culture and language within it. However, this is not the case. Many African countries, like Côte d'Ivoire, where Aya takes place, were colonized by Europe throughout history. Côte d'Ivoire was under the control of France until the 1960s, and Aya is set during the period right after they finally received independence. There was an economic boom and a rise in children being able to go to school. Because of this, women were also able to become aware of their rights. I think that is why Aya has such a powerful feminist voice behind it. I can tell that the graphic novel was intended for people outside of Côte d'Ivoire because of the central themes discussed within it. For example, there is a heavy emphasis on independence. Obviously, this can relate to the newly gained independence of the country and how that reflects on the people. On the other hand, it is a theme that many oppressed groups can relate to, typically women and minorities. Aya is also able to show that these two things coincide, bringing in the concept of intersectional feminism, as well.

As writers, it is important to teach unfamiliar cultures to your readers in a way that can still relate back to them. Marguerite Abouet does this by including overarching themes that people outside of Côte d'Ivoire can empathize with. The sense of community that Aya portrays through her relationships with other characters is an example of this. Moreover, as readers, it is essential to read works from other cultures with an open mind. Readers should be prepared to learn and reflect rather than simply absorbing information. By relating aspects of an unfamiliar culture back to their own experiences, readers are able to create a mutual understanding between themselves and the writer. They can educate themselves on something they were completely unaware about while realizing that they may share similarities, too. All in all, Aya teaches us that the shared experience of being human transcends any differences between cultures to form a cohesive and unbreakable bond.