Episode 78: Start Within - Breaking The Biases You Hold Against Yourself With Yagazie Eguare

On this very special International Women’s Day episode, I have a soul rich conversation with Yagazie about womanhood. Exploring unconscious biases, through a perspective that is often not seen. Whilst it’s considerably easier to see biases against women perpetrated by men, what is often not as apparent are the biases we as women hold against ourselves which hold us back from being, doing and having all that we have been created to. 

Yagazie Eguare, a renowned professional photographer, creative entrepreneur, a leader and educator is changing the narrative of photography in Africa through her premium photography brand - GazMadu Studios. Yagazie, in this episode, brings truly unique insights and helps shatter stereotypical thinking about what it means to embrace your journey as a woman and live on your own terms even through changing seasons. This episode is for every girl/woman who is becoming and desires clarity and courage to set herself free from limitations, including those she’s unconsciously set herself. 

Key Highlights

• “Being female is not a limitation” (9:46)
• Growing up with a bias in a pro-gender blended family (11:15)
• Consciously living fully: Dance, Politics and Academics (16:03)
• Permitting yourself to shut the curtains to a life that no longer serves you (19:38) 
• The importance of knowing your identity through rigorous inner work (35:13)
• “Photography and my education are the tools I’m equipped with to reach the many people I am called to” (41:52)
• “The ultimate purpose in life is people.We are all called to people”. (42:50)
• The Money bias: why it is okay to be paid what you are worth as a woman. (45:09)

About Yagazie

Yagazie Eguare is a professional photographer, a creative force, an educator, and a leader within the photography industry who is changing the narrative of photography in Africa through her premium photography brand - GazMadu Studios. She is the lead creative and founder of GazMadu Studios - a premium award-winning photography company that specialises in timeless portraits, documentary photography for weddings, corporate organisations and more including comprehensive education resources for creatives and a thriving photography community. 

Members of this community benefit from a wide array of exclusive opportunities covering live training, courses, events, resources, coaching and mentorship. She began this journey in 2012 and since then, she has risen to become one of the most recognizable portrait photographers in the photography industry in Nigeria attracting premium clients of different nationalities. She has been featured and recognised on several notable platforms both nationally and internationally over the past 5 years. 

Yagazie is also on a mission to elevate the perspectives people have of photography in Africa. She founded the GazMadu Education platform in 2019 - a trailblazing education platform that equips and empowers creatives across Africa to enhance their skills and build successful, thriving businesses so that they can impact their world with their distinct gifts and talents. Her education platform has impacted over 7000 photographers till date. She is also the curator of the growing GazMadu Education photography community – a global hub for creatives who seek to connect with other creatives honing and leveraging their skills in significant ways locally and internationally. 

Connect with Yagazie on

Instagram: @gazmadu, @gazmadustudios, @gazmadu.weddings, @gazmadueducation