African women have often bemoaned being used as weapons of war or bearing the brunt of keeping families together during conflict, yet they are overlooked for national office.
Addressing delegates at a recent women’s consultative conference on Pan Africanism, Dlamini Zuma said governments should increase women involvement in both political and economic decision-making positions.
Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe was among guests at the conference, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
She also urged African women not to sit back, but to fight for that involvement, describing as “quiet” the story of African women’s lives.
“You are a small sample of women and when you get back home, we want you in your sectors to discuss with more women the question of where we want Africa to be in the next 50 years,” said the former South African government minister.
“Whether you are in politics, the arts, judiciary, development or business, we want you to be part of it. Governments alone cannot define the African agenda for 2063. It must involve all of us – in every sector of society.
“All of us must have a say on the African dream into the next five decades. If we don’t do that, the narrative from Africa will come from other people.”
She said by 2025, a quarter of the world’s under-25 year-olds would be in Africa, meaning that the continent needed to invest in youth and women to unleash their creativity and energy.
“Women of Africa make up more than half of our continental population and we give birth to the other half. Prosperity and peace can therefore not be achieved without them,” added the AU official.
She advised women to get actively involved in agriculture, infrastructural development, mining, leadership, business and peace building for future prosperity.
“If Africans are only farm labourers and not involved in agro-processing, we will remain poor. Africa must also have access to these products when our people need it,” said Dlamini Zuma.
Post published in: News