The first Global Gender Summit to take place in Africa on Monday kicked off in Kigali, Rwanda with a call to move from commitment to action on issues concerning women.
Speaking at the biennale organized by the multilateral development banks (MDBs), President Sahle-Work Zewede of Ethiopia, said Ethiopia’s parliament is one of the only two on the continent with over 50% gender parity in seats, just as women currently hold key ministerial roles in defence and national security for the first time.
In spite of this advancement for women, she said the work has, however, just started.
Zewede, who is Africa’s only female president, spoke at the opening plenary of the Summit, which brings together leaders from government, development institutions, private sector, civil society and the academia.
Gender equality is real common sense, said President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who officially opened the Summit, themed, ‘Unpacking constraints to gender equality.’
He said, “We got it from the beginning that there is a lot of work to do, we made investments to ensure that women are at the centre of development. We are making sure that narrowing this gender gap is everyone’s responsibility.”
In the same light, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said the African Union’s Agenda 2063 was deliberate about gender parity.
“What we are telling our Heads of States is to take the bull by the horns…This discrimination is political, economic, and social; it is politically incorrect, unjustifiable socially…not to take (gender) into account is a real waste.”
Stating that the challenges are not just about gender, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, added that, “they are about under-representation and lack of empowerment of women.
“A smarter world must invest in women and girls. Let’s be smart, and let’s be wise. Women are the best investment any society can make,” he said.
In Africa, 70% of women are excluded financially. The continent has a $42 billion financing gap between men and women. And women, who are the majority of farmers, face a financing gap of close to $16 billion.
As part of its efforts to transform the financing landscape for women, the AfDB launched the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA).
The initiative aims to mobilise $3 billion of new lending by banks and financial institutions for women in Africa. G7 leaders approved a package totalling $251 million in support of AFAWA during the summit in August.
The event which kicked off just as the 16 days of Activism began and the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ends on the 27th.
