A cikin shekarun 1840, an haifi wata jarumar 'yar gwagwarmaya a Kenya a lardin bakin teku na Kilifi, inda al'ummar Giriama suke zaune.

An sanya mata suna Nyanzi Waza a lokacin haihuwarta, amma sunanta ya sauya bayan da ta zama uwa. Bayan ta haifi ɗa, aka fara kiranta da ‘Mekatilili’, wanda ke nufin "Uwar Katilili"—sunan da daga baya ya zama alamar gwagwarmayarta a tarihi.

A lokacin da ta kai shekaru 70, Mekatilili ta zama shugaba mai ƙarfi, tana jagorantar mutanenta wajen tsayayya da zaluncin mulkin mallaka na Birtaniya.

Turawan Birtaniya sun fara kwashe mutane daga gidajensu don bautar da su, kuma ɗan'uwanta, Moran, yana cikin waɗanda aka kama. Wannan abin ya ta da mata hankali, ya sa ta zama jagorar gwagwarmaya.

‘Mace mai tarihi’

Mutanen Giriama sun sha wahala sosai a ƙarƙashin mulkin mallaka—an ƙwace ƙasashensu, an raba iyalai, kuma fiye da mutane 150 sun rasa rayukansu. Fiye da gidaje 5,000 aka ƙone, sannan aka lalata wuraren taro masu tsarki a Kilifi. Duk da haka, Mekatilili ta ƙi ja da baya.

A cikin shekarun 1913 da 1914, hukumomin Birtaniya sun kama ta sau biyu, amma zuciyarta ba ta taɓa yin rauni ba. Kowane lokaci da aka kama ta, tana tserewa daga kurkuku tana komawa Kilifi, inda take ci gaba da haɗa mutanenta.

Jagorancinta ya sa aka ci gaba da nuna adawa da mulkin mallaka, yana ƙarfafa Giriama su dawo da 'yancinsu.

A ƙarƙashin jagorancinta, al'ummar Giriama sun dawo da tsarin shugabancinsu na gargajiya, inda Mekatilili ta zama shugabar Majalisar Mata.

Ta ci gaba da zama abar tunawa har zuwa rasuwarta a tsakiyar shekarun 1920, amma tasirinta bai taɓa gushewa ba.

A yau, Mekatilili wa Menza tana matsayin ɗaya daga cikin mata mafiya tasiri a tarihin Kenya—jaruma mara tsoro, shugaba mai haɗa-kan al’umma, kuma alamar tsayayya da zalunci.

Labarinta yana ci gaba da bai wa al'ummomi sha’awa da zaburar da su, yana zama shaida ga ƙarfin ƙarfin hali da tsayayya a lokacin rashin adalci.