On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Afromedia Initiative hosts Egyptian women leaders in the African Union
Under the theme: “Continental Presence of Egyptian Women”, the Afromedia Initiative is to host Ambassador Dr Namira Negm, 1st woman appointed Legal Adviser to the African Union, as well as Dr Nadine Hakim, Advisor to the Chair of the African Union Commission for International Partnerships Affairs.
It is in this context that many African women have had unparalleled achievements and successes at the continental and global levels in several fields, mentioning the last of which are Ngozi Okonjo’ serving as Director-general of the World Trade Organization, thus becoming the 1st woman and the 1st African to hold this position, and the Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali , Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Executive Director of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime and Director of the UNODC Headquarters. This reflects the extent of the success achieved by Africa in empowering women.
At the regional level, African leaders announced that from 2020 to 2030 would be the new decade for the financial and economic inclusion of women. This came as part of their re-commitment to scale up action for the progressive integration of gender towards sustainable development, noting that Africa’s Agenda 2063 -in its 6th aspiration- adopts the empowerment of women and elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against them.
Despite the commendable achievements to date, we need to make more efforts towards achieving gender equality and empowering women. The Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo mentioned at the African Union summit held in 2020: “Our women and girls still face many cultural, religious, financial, social barriers and others.” He also urged the need to take appropriate measures to implement the protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), which was adopted by 42 African countries in 2003, as the protocol ensures a comprehensive and diverse set of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as well as environmental rights, placing women as full and active partners on an equal footing with men, which fosters equal opportunities in pursuit of the well-being of women and girls on the continent.
At the local level, and under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Egypt prioritizes the cause of women empowerment, especially in light of the Egyptian constitution ensuring women’s rights, for which 20 articles have been allocated, stressing the importance of their role for the country and society without discrimination, as well as ensuring the rest of their rights as full citizens. This means removing obstacles to their natural rights, especially in the area of development and economy.
Egyptian women also reap many important benefits from their empowerment and access to decision-making positions in the State.
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Hence, Afromedia seeks to hold a session entitled “The universal presence of African women in general and Egyptian women in particular” to discuss many issues related to their social, cultural, economic and political empowerment.
The symposium targets the Egyptian media professionals, journalists, and researchers concerned with women and family affairs, in particular, and non-Egyptian Arabic-speaking Africans in general.
Category: West Africa