By Abdel Monem Fawzi
There is nothing like the power of African women. Their wisdom is endless.
The problem is that African women continue to face not only widespread poverty, but also heavy labour burdens, along with major challenges and obstacles. The primary development policies in many countries, known as poverty reduction strategies, still do not take into account disparities in income and power between men and women, which hamper efforts to finance programmes that reduce inequality. In addition, most African women are still denied education and employment, and have limited opportunities in trade, industry and government.
Nevertheless, there is an initiative to recognise and celebrate exceptional African female leaders.
This initiative is aimed at recognising and celebrating African girls and women in making a difference through exceptional leadership at the grassroots or executive positions. The initiative aims to create a space for women to share their experiences, triumphs and to send a message of encouragement to the next generation of African women to claim their rightful place in history and create the ‘Africa they want’. Each woman will have an opportunity to write her own story or upon request, an AU-UN team will assist in the storytelling process for women who seek support.
This initiative acknowledges the continuous struggle for women across the African continent spanning several centuries in the pursuit of parity and equal representation of women in leadership positions. In recent years, progress has been recorded as African governments, and public and private institutions implement gender-responsive actions and as African women and girls through resilience and commitment, advance their quest to be break the barriers and glass ceiling.
The objectives of the book are to honour the leadership and achievements of African Women and girls in various sectors and share their leadership experiences, and to document the stories and achievements of women leaders and inspire African girls and women to see beyond the existing structural barriers and assure them that they can thrive in their chosen field.
Also, the book will provide the evidence that Africa can prosper, be peaceful and integrated if it leverages on the potential of its women and girls. In so doing, stakeholders will help create an enabling environment and support female leaders and their initiatives.
This initiative is led by the African Union Commission, Women, Gender and Youth Directorate, in collaboration with the United Nations through its agencies, the UN Women, UNFPA and UNHCR. It is also aligned with the International Women’s Day 2021 celebrations held under the theme “women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.
Within the policy of empowering African wome, Africa’s free trade area will support women equally through targeted measures, says UNECA director.
Targeted measures are needed to ensure opportunities arising from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) benefit women and men equally across the region.
Ms Thokozile Ruzvidzo, Director of the Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), made this plea to African countries at a roundtable on ‘Human Capital: Culture and Heritage’, hosted by the UN’s Office of the Special Adviser on Africa on May 28 during the 2021 Africa Dialogue Series.
She said trade alone cannot change the fact women, who although play a significant role in Africa’s economy, remain underpaid and underemployed compared to men.
Beyond the inherit economic disadvantage, Ms. Ruzvidzo added that women remain vulnerable to high levies, bribes, harassment, confiscation of goods and violence, especially in Africa’s informal cross-border trade where they make up 70 per cent of traders.
She said: “Women are not a homogenous group. AfCFTA will affect them differently based on their education, economic status and location. Understanding the gender impacts of trade under AfCFTA is critical in ensuring equality of opportunity for women and men.
“We know that trade can be a powerful driver of gender equality but that can only happen if we implement measures which stamp out inequalities across the whole system.”
AfCFTA is the world’s biggest free trade area, with a market of 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.2 trillion. The agreement creates new jobs and business opportunities across Africa.
However, similar to global trends, women are not benefiting from international trade as much as men. According to the International Trade Centre, only one per cent of the global government procurement market is currently offered to women-owned businesses. Research shows that this imbalance reduces GDP and perpetuates poverty, unproductivity and inequality.
To address this gap, Ms Ruzvidzo shared three recommendations with the roundtable participants. First, countries need to adopt a gender-sensitive approach to the national implementation of AfCFTA, especially in areas that directly affect women.
Specific measures could range from customs co-operation to trade facilitation, legal protection from discrimination, sanitary services and administrative support, which will offer women a better, fairer and safer trading environment.
Second, specific continental frameworks are needed to address gender-based barriers which will guarantee that trade opportunities reach and benefit every African.
Ms Thokozile Ruzvidzo said: “For instance, introducing a continent-wide ‘Simplified Trade Regime’ that is sensitive to needs of small-scale female traders can bring those traders into the formal trading system, enabling them to grow and thrive.”
She added that similar interventions that address obstacles women face could improve the productivity and competitiveness of women-owned businesses and enable female farmers to access regional markets.
Recognising the digital uptake in the Covid-19 pandemic, the final recommendation focuses on scaling up digitalisation efforts to help industrialise and diversify the African economy.
The overarching principle in Ms Ruzvidzo’s recommendations is to ensure women’s interests and concerns inform the policy, legislative and procedural frameworks which will facilitate trade under AfCFTA. She said this would ensure that no one is left behind and the full potential of trade liberalisation is harnessed for a healthy African economy.
