In this article, Emma Heywood and Beatrice Ivey from the University of Sheffield, explore the need to discuss women's empowerment not from the perspective of women as individuals, but from the perspective of 'networks of relationships', allowing for intersubjectivity and evolving relationships with others. The paper draws on two rounds of focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted in 2019-2020 and content analyses of a series of women-related radio programmes broadcast by Studio Tamani in Mali.