To date the women of Africa, like women elsewhere, have not been included as full, equal and effective stakeholders in processes that determine their lives. Their role and contribution to national and continental development processes are neither recognised nor rewarded; they continue to be absent from decision making and although they bear the brunt of conflicts, women are generally not included in peace negotiations or other initiatives.

If I look at the women in my family – my mother, my aunties, cousins and friends – I see strength; strength of character, and the power of vision. The African woman is strong, bold, driven and an incredible multi-tasker. I say this, not because it’s a cliché, but because it is true. From the Tomato farms in Kano Nigeria, to the tea plantations in Kericho, Kenya, from politics, to business and civil society, women are putting in the work and are achieving great results. If I even speak from a personal perspective, the women within my network are focused, and are making consistent, measurable impact in all fields of endeavour.

We should be asking what role women are already playing and what role they have played in the past. We would not be here without the contribution of women, that is for sure. What is it that women want for Africa? We want a world that recognises everyone first and foremost as a human being. I believe that by asking the right questions and making our contributions in the different fields that we occupy, we are creating a different society. We have come a long way. The resilience and strength of African women will make a difference.

It is interesting because African women are at the heart of radical movement building, particularly African feminists who have been core allies in all the struggles that shaped the past couple of decades. African women were central to liberation movements but it is about who writes those histories and who is interested in those stories. Some African women were spectacularly erased because they were vocal and public. There is erasure because of neoliberalism and economic status because women are the most marginalized in these structures. African women are actually the majority food producers of the continent but it is in smallholder farming and it is not protected. The reason why African women are not centered is because of patriarchy and it is a preference for thinking or presuming that men are the shapers of history. When things are documented, they are not documented in the way that tells that story. I spent a lot of time in African feminist space trying to uncover those histories. I have been quite obsessed in regards to documentation and getting those names out there.

women constitute the majority of our population in Africa. Therefore, when we talk about poverty, suffering and underdevelopment, we are talking mostly of women.

I survived as a woman where men dominated because my people were supportive of women. In so many places in the world, there is an assumption that African women are the most oppressed. It is not true, we are not! At least not all. As an Akan, Fante woman, I grew up in a society where there was not much discrimination against girls. That is why I could be a writer and nobody could tell me writing was a man’s job. I had to go to University to be told by someone that I speak and do other things like a man. My regret is that we Ghanaian girls are not using the freedom we have inherited, and men are now moving in to colonise us.

Yet sustainable economic and social development can only be achieved with the full participation and leadership of women on the African continent. In order to overturn centuries of underdevelopment, women need to position themselves at the centre of development processes.

African women especially young ones have been silent foe so long. We are the discussed,the studied,the analysed and the written about. And I am so privileged to have been able to raise my voice and speak for what we felt and cried and yearned.

I believe the new African woman is a woman who respects her man and knows that the man is the head of the family, but doesn’t lose herself in that either but commands and demands respect in her own way.

The majority of African women are still denied education and employment, and have limited opportunities in trade, industry and government.

Wow. We have so many young women and people around the world and around Africa that I come across and I also look up to them. A New African Woman is strong and is at the top of her game in informing and shaping the future of Africa on every level: economically, politically, environmentally, because we are there in all these fields. It is also about African women’s rights and aspirations. African women are closing the gap between the realities of today and our aspirations for tomorrow.

In so many places in the world, there is an assumption that African women are the most oppressed. It is not true, we are not! At least not all.

Africa’s socio-economic transformation will only be realized once we aggressively address gender-specific challenges, prioritize gender equality and women’s participation, and firmly entrench women in leadership positions at all levels in society.

“The woman is the core. She holds us up. In Africa, you just have to deal with the issues that affect the productivity of women. They bring food to the table. They bring education to the household. They bring medical care in the household... It is essential to support women, if we want to make a difference, if we want to transform the way the world works, for them and their families."