In January, Zambian playwright Mulenga Kapwepwe staged a Bemba-language musical in Lusaka based on her father's book Shalapo Chanichandala. When Kapwepwe's friend, the Zambian journalist Samba Yonga saw it, she was transfixed.

For Yonga, the theatrical experience which told the story of the time between Zambia's colonization and mass urbanization was captivating. The colors, music and the lived experiences of the Zambian people during the 50s were brought to life in a manner that for Yonga, wasn't overshadowed by the arrival of the colonists. Instead, it centered Zambians.

It spoke volumes to the narratives which had been cast aside, erased and forgotten. For Yonga, the play shared the same source of Afrocentric inspiration as the Women's History Museum, an ongoing project between the two friends.

Begun in 2016, the museum has largely been a digital archive thus far but will soon be be housed in the Lusaka National Museum in Zambia. A large collection of historical artifacts that both Yonga and Kapwepwe have been collecting over the years, will occupy the second floor of Zambia's national museum.

We sat down with Samba Yonga to find out how the Women's History Museum is challenging mainstream narratives which will ultimately change the way Africans see themselves.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.