Africa: Unlocking Africa's Moment

08 March 2011, AllAfrica.com
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/201103080713.html

On International women's Day, many events are held in centres across the world to celebrate the achievements of women through the ages. This is a day to inspire women, especially those who are still advocating for development, equality and justice for women and girls, particularly here on our beloved African continent.

In the early 1900's, a time when great expansion and industrialisation took place in the western world, there was increased debate among women that critiqued issues of oppression and inequality which women were experiencing especially in the workplace. Today we celebrate the progress and strides in the economic, social and political development that women themselves have advocated and struggled for. However we are also aware that while the lives of many women, including those in developing countries have improved, especially towards the year 2000, poverty in Africa increased by 82 million people during this very same period…70% would have been women and young people.

We are pleased that in 2010 the African Union launched the decade for African women. This is period for women in Africa to celebrate achievement and mobilise for the future. This decade however will mean little if governments fail to ratify and implement the protocol on the African charter on Human and people's rights on the rights of women.

In my capacity as the president of the African Monitor, which is a continental wide body, primarily focused on enhancing social and economic development in Africa, through advocacy and promoting the voice of Africans at decision making platforms, I am very grateful to be able to respond to what International women's day means for the African continent. African monitor welcomes the opportunity to once again cast the spotlight on the fate of the women of Africa; to make sure that their developmental issues become priority within their respective governments, and that the quality of the life of the African girl child continues to improve for the better.

Every year, more than half a million women die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth. Almost all of them would still be alive if they had access to a skilled midwife or doctor in childbirth and effective emergency care for women who have complications. This is a reality for African women, which is unacceptable in a world where medical technology is so advanced that doctors can perform operations without actually being in the operating room!!! We live in a world where women have become astronauts, business giants, presidents of countries and saints…we cannot accept that the same world can allow such struggle for women in Africa, who should instead be enjoying the miracle of life.

African women are guardians of their children's welfare and have explicit responsibility to provide for them materially. They are the household managers, providing food, nutrition, water, health, education, and family planning to an extent greater than elsewhere in the developing world. This places heavy burdens on them, despite developments such as improved agriculture technology, availability of contraception, and changes in women's socioeconomic status, which one might think would have made their lives easier. In fact, it would be fair to say that their workload has increased with the changing economic and social situation in Africa. Women's economic capabilities, and in particular their ability to manage family welfare, are being threatened. 'Modernization' has shifted the balance of advantage against women. The legal framework and the modern social sector and producer services developed by the independent African countries have not served women well.

Most African women, in common with women all over the world, face a variety of legal, economic and social constraints. Indeed some laws still treat them as minors. Women are known to grow over 80 per cent of food produced in Africa, and yet few are allowed to own the land they work. It is often more difficult for women to gain access to information and technology, resources and credit.

Female education affects family health and nutrition, agricultural productivity, and fertility, yet there is a wide gender gap in education. Lack of resources and pressures on time and energies put enormous constraints on the ability of women to maintain their own health and nutrition as well as that of their children. As a result, women are less well equipped than men to take advantage of the better income-earning opportunities that have emerged in Africa. Although food and nutrition are women's prime concerns in Africa, and they are the principal participants in agriculture, independent farming by women has been relatively neglected. Women's family labour contribution has increased, but goes unpaid.

Today and for many generations, negative images of Africa have dominated the news. The Africa of HIV/AIDS. The Africa of Malaria. The Africa of Poverty. The Africa of Hunger and the Africa of Disaster. This is the Africa we hear all the time in the News but there is one Africa people do not hear too often. It is true that HIV/AIDS is destroying the continent of Africa. It is true that Africa is a poor continent. It is also true that there is Hunger almost everywhere in Africa. This is the Africa we hear all the time but there is one Africa people do not hear all the time and this is the Africa of HOPE. This is the Africa of OPPORTUNITIES. This is the CHANGING Africa where people want to take their destinies in their own hands. This is the Africa where people want to take care of their own future.

African Monitor, in acknowledging the four drivers of Africa's future, being our people, the global economy, food security and technology and skills, choose to respond to the challenges by being innovative and further developing strong leadership to tackle issues in these areas. As a small organisation with limited funding, it is strategic to use our advantage in advocacy and communications to influence wide scale improvement and change in Africa's development.

It is time for change. It is a time to encourage bold and courageous leadership in Africa to break the cycle of poverty and inequality with new and fresh policies and programmes. It is time to support the spirit of African entrepreneurship that drives growth and development. It is time to unlock the potential of Africa. It is time for "Unlocking the African Moment".

AM has chosen "Unlocking the African Moment" as its theme for the year. This is a powerful and dynamic theme flowing from the contextual analysis of a rising continent full of potential. The theme forces AM to take action, be bold, have hope and strive towards creating solutions for Africa's future. The role of young people is recognised as an opportunity for change and development and that when the platform is created for youth to perform the future if Africa will transform with energy and innovation. It is also critical to unlock the chains that prevent the development and progress of women in Africa.

Women in Africa are often covered by the international media as helpless victims of tragedy. Yet, women are making progressive changes in their communities across the continent by pressing for legal reforms and working through legal and political frameworks to improve their status.

The current legal landscape in Africa often limits women's ability to participate in civil society: adherence to tribal or customary laws that limit a woman's right to marry, own property or even inherit land; laws against rape and genital cutting are ignored or nonexistent; sexual assaults against young girls and women are becoming more widespread and tolerated; polygamy has left many women virtual hostages to HIV exposure.

But at the same time, earth-shattering movements for change are taking root across Africa, and women are at the forefront. The world has focused on conflicts tearing apart nations; once those conflicts are over the stories of success are often lost. While frustrations abound for women limited by traditional laws, the greater story to be told is that of these women's inspirations and the complex, hard-won victories that slowly emerge.

At African Monitor, we want to walk alongside the movements of change and enhance the impact it has on development and progress for Africa and our people. Specifically we believe that development and progress in Africa is only successful if we unlock the potential of our women and young people, unlock the chains of oppression that keep women in poverty, unlock the capabilities of women and girls in education as well as science and technology…and in so doing "UNLOCKING AFRICA'S MOMENT".