AMwA's Alumni of the Month 

An African Feminist Inspiring African Women

I invite you to journey with us today in this exclusive interview as we learn about Nana’s leadership journey since the African Women’s Leadership Institute of 2002. You will not only be inspired but also challenged discover yourself and lead.

Can you briefly tell us about yourself?

One of the ways in which I routinely describe myself is as an African feminist. I am also a writer, blogger, entrepreneur and a communications specialist. I love to read, and feel that I ought to read in order to nourish my writing, and in recent years I feel saddened that I’ve read less than I would like. For that reason one of my goals this year is to read a book a month – a goal that I thought was realistic but so far I have only finished, “How long has the train been gone’ by one of my favorite writers of all time, James Baldwin. I have started reading ‘My First Coup D’Etat’ by John Dramani Mahami, Ghana’s current President although I feel the need to add that he is far from my favorite person because of Ghana’s current energy crisis. I have also started ‘Becoming a Writer’ by Dorothea Brande and whilst killing time at Arland Airport in Stockholm picked up ‘Not That Kind Of Girl’ by Lena Dunham which I am really enjoying although I am still waiting to come across the part of the book which had all of Twitter in a storm because she wrote about touching her younger sister’s vagina. 

What would consider as some of the unique qualities that define your personality as an African woman of strength

I don’t know if I see myself as a woman of strength, although I am an African woman who juggles a lot of roles like many who have come before me. Some of my more positive qualities include my ability to multi-task, and build relationships easily. Some people describe me as “strong”, it’s not a word I would use to describe myself. Hardworking? Yes. Determined? Yes. A Go Getter? An absolute yes.

 Kindly share with us your AWLI experience like? What was it like to be part of this institute and how has it impacted on your life and career development over the years?

I attended AWLI whilst interning with Akina Mama wa Afrika in London. The AWLI that I took part in was held in Scotland. I think the year was 2002 because I had just finished my Masters in Gender and Development. I met a lot of amazing African women at the AWLI I attended. Some like Thandi Haruperi I worked with, and many other became close friends like Elvina Quaison with whom I currently house share. So in my personal life the impact was great and in my career too. One of the women who became my friends at the AWLI Bisi Olonisakin was able to give me the number for Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi when I was looking to move to Ghana and wanted a job with the African Women’s Development Fund. I sent in my C.V., followed up with a phone call to ‘Big Bisi’, and underwent one of the toughest interviews of my life but eventually got offered a job as a Fundraising & Communications Officer. I ended up working at AWDF for 7 years with my final post being that of a Communications Specialist.

What were the unique aspects of the AWLI training that stood out for you? Are there some lessons you got from AWLI that have proved particularly effective in your work?

I remember that lots of people cried during the session on sex and gender. The consequences of being treated differently, in many cases from brothers had hurt people deeply. That session underscored to me the importance of treating people fairly.

Would you recommend any young woman to undertake the AWLI training?

Yes, the AWLI training is grounded in African feminist theory which is critical especially as so few spaces privilege African women’s intellectual knowledge production. The AWLI was also an opportunity for younger feminists to meet and interact with key figures in the African women’s movement. Perhaps most importantly of all, the AWLI is an opportunity to meet peers, African women like yourself, passionate about gender justice.

The women’s movement in Africa is said to have lost its vibrancy. What do you think has led to this and how can the women’s movement shift from this phase to the apex of activism for women’s rights?

I don’t believe that the women’s movement in Africa has lost its vibrancy. I think the African women’s movement, like many other movements around the world is under resourced although the evidence shows clearly that all significant changes for gender justice has been led by women’s movement. For a movement to grow, it needs resources to meet, time to reflect, and strategise. In this current era most donors are unwilling to fund movement building work as the impact of this work takes years, sometimes decades to show.

As we draw close to the declaration of the post 2015 development framework and beyond what would you like to see African governments commit to?

I would like to see African governments move beyond commitments to action. Many of our governments have committed to progressive conventions and protocols like the ‘Maputo protocol’ yet they fail to act on the very issues they have said they will prioritize.

What is your message for any young women interested in political leadership?

I would like to encourage all young women interested in political leadership to aim for the highest office in the land and not allow themselves to be limited to offices that are chronically underfunded, and a tokenistic effort to increase the number of women in public office – saying this, even if you find yourself in such an office I urge you to work to the best of your ability, and to work actively with women’s movements, organisations and activists. I urge all women political leaders to make a stand for women’s rights and to push for progressive laws that benefit women, men and the society at large. When there is an issue that affects women it is important that women political leaders speak up for women’s rights and are seen to do so.

Which one thing would you want the world to remember you for?

I would like the world to remember me as a passionate African woman who inspired other African women to live their best possible lives.

AKina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership program run by the Institute of International Education (IIE) , Sub Saharan Africa- Ethiopia Office.

For more on IIE , ACE or AMwA please follow the links below.
www.iie.org/
www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, 

www.akinamamawaafrika.org/

"Women, Don't Undermine your Potential"

My name is Zenebech Ezezew. I was born in 1958 E.C in Debre Tabor town, Gondar. My parents were in good economic situation. However, they got divorced while I was a child and that was bad for my upbringing. I stayed with my father and joined church education but couldn't continue further due to a problem I had with my step-mother. Later, I escaped  an arranged marriage and ran away to Gondar city where I started working as a domestic worker with a salary of six birr ( around $3 at the time) per month.

In the meantime, a woman who knew my strengths and the meager payment brought me to Addis Ababa. I was hired as a domestic worker and continued my education in the evening until I reached tenth grade. Grade eleven was difficult for me, hence I dropped out from school, got married and gave birth to three children.

To support my husband, I brought cheese, butter and egg from Sebeta and Sululta (small semi-urban villages on the outskirt of Addis) and started selling injera too. But life was very difficult. While I was in such a difficult situation, my friend who is a member of Women in Self Employment (WISE) saving and credit association (SACCO) advised me about the benefits of becoming a member of WISE and the various services of the organization. Thus, I joined 'Tinsae' Saving and Credit Cooperative in 1999 E.C. By that time, I was struggling to work in a small shop. I took the Basic Business Skills training and the first round loan of 500 birr (around $40) that helped me expand my business.

The training brought me tremendous attitudinal change within a very short period of time. Before I tool the training, even if I was working hardly day and night, I was unable to fulfill the minimum subsistence needs. The training helped me understand the meaning of profit and loss, efficient time and money utilization and income and profit calculation. The Health training helped me improve my personal and environmental hygiene. By taking different rounds of loans, my business expanded and I was able to buy the necessary household utilities like refrigerator for my house.

Currently, I have taken Birr 15,000 ($750) loan and my saving has reached Birr 12,000 ($600). I have two savings, for me and my children and for condominium being constructed by the government. I am helping relatives besides myself.  Two of my children have graduated from colleges. The first one is to soon start working in Ethiopian Airlines as a mechanic soon and the second one will get his driving license within a short time. My last child is a girl. She withdrew from a public school and joined a private one for which I am paying 500 birr ($25) per month. I used to spend my time and money to fulfill other people’s expectations; serve meal followed by coffee ceremony, etc. I and my family are no more wasting time in serving coffee.

My life has changed tremendously. I now have all the necessary household equipment for my house and I am able to visit my relatives in rural areas.

I have a plan to expand my business in the near future. Thus, I am planning to buy a car for transporting the goods. Since I have a driver and mechanic at home, the car will be easily manageable at my household level.

I want to send a message, to all Women - you shouldn't depend on the income your husbands bring home.  You have to be strong enough and shouldn't undermine your potential since every household needs a woman.           

Zenebech Ezezew

Women in Self Employment (WISE) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership Program run by the Institute of Intenrational Education (IIE), Ethiopia Office 

For more on IIE , ACE or WISE please follow the links below.

 www.iie.org/

www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, www.wise.org.et/     

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)-The African Agenda   

   by Esther Kimani (Executive Director -Young Women's Leadership Institute)

“When we allow Sexual and Reproductive Health to include Rights, as Africans we are accepting to be influenced by western culture that of accepting persons with different sexual orientations which is not in line with our African culture”. African Leader

These were the sentiments of an African leader negotiating on behalf of Africans at the global level at the Commission on Status of Women 58th Session 2014. It has been one year ever since the Agreed Conclusions were adopted and these sentiments are stuck in my head and I wonder when was SRHR narrowed down to promotion of persons with different sexual orientation (LGBTI). At the CSW59 session the sentiments from the African Group were still the same. That SRHR is a western influenced ideology and not an African Agenda. It was bad as even the Government delegation got a memo from one of the African Countries to not even mention the words SRHR anywhere. Are some of our African leaders that narrow minded? Do they really understand the issues of Africans and are they burying their head in the sand by not recognizing the existence of persons of different sexual orientations in Africa? Are they fit to negotiate on our behalf if some of them do not understand the issues well? These are some of the many questions that have been lingering in my mind for some time now. I believe that universal access to SRHR for all encompasses the rights of women with regards to their sexuality. The right of women in regards to sexuality as in accordance to Beijing PFA (1994), para 96 includes, their right to have and to control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to the sexuality. These rights have numerously been recognized a number of times by the African governments in different declarations and commitments at the Global level such as the Rio +20 (para 146) which states that “We commit to reduce maternal and child mortality, and to improve the health of women, men, youth and children. We reaffirm our commitment to gender equality and to protect the rights of women, men and youth to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including access to sexual and reproductive health, free from coercion, discrimination and violence. We will work actively to ensure that health systems provide the necessary information and health services addressing the sexual and reproductive health of women, including working towards universal access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern methods of family planning, as this is essential for women's health and advancing gender equality” This is not new to Africans and the #TheAfricaWeWant is where all women have full control over their bodies and sexuality.

In 1995, 189 states committed to Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) and its 12 critical areas of concern for women which includes universal access to quality health care for all women at all ages. Over the years the review process of BPFA has been cognizant of the language of SRHR and African states have committed to this language in all the Global policy making processes. I fail to understand their sentiments about this foreign language (SRHR) that is not part of African Agenda according to them.

Statistics show that every year at least 36,000 African women and girls die from unsafe abortion, accounting for 14 percent of all maternal deaths in the region. 287,000 women, most of them in Africa and Southeast Asia, died from preventable complications of pregnancy, childbirth and unsafe abortion (13% of maternal deaths). In other words we can say that in Africa, women’s death results from complications related to giving life. African leaders are aware of these phenomena, they cannot afford to say that access to SRHR services and needs for women is not an African agenda. African women need leaders who understand the issues and can negotiate on a language that will ensure every woman, throughout her life, have access to; a comprehensive, accessible, and integrated package of sexual and reproductive health services of high quality that fully respect and protect her sexual and reproductive rights.

Are we going to sit back and relax as our sisters, daughters, cousins, nieces, friends and neighbors die every year due preventable deaths as they bring forth life? It is My, Yours, Our responsibility and that of our leaders to protect women and girls of Africa. We need to hold our leaders to account as they make decisions about women’s bodies at the global level, we must ensure they are aware of the issues and are passionate about emancipation of women and full realizations of women’s rights. Take action today by joining in the women agenda in your country. It is our collective action that will bring forth change in Africa.

“You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And Reproductive Health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal and safe abortion” Hillary Clinton

Young Women's Leadership Institute (YWLI) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership program run by the Institute of International Education (IIE) , Ethiopia Office.

For more on IIE , ACE or YWLI please follow the links below.
www.iie.org/
www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, 

www.ywli.org  

Olive Uwamariya: Extending the reach

Olive Uwamariya is an empowered woman of the feminist mold. She was amongst the first women to be trained under the Rwanda Women Leadership Institute (RWLI) as a facilitator to empower women leaders with relevant leadership skills. RWLI is a project of the Rwanda Women’s Network in collaboration with the African Centers of Excellence for Women’s Leadership (ACE).

Describing herself as an unapologetic feminist, Uwamariya was recently featured in a talk show on Contact FM, one of the popular radio stations in Rwanda, where she discussed feminism and its positive place in society. Uwamariya embodies the RWLI aim to empower and reach women and girls as widely as possible with leadership ideals, especially through women like. She knowledgeably speaks out, as well as describes how she amiably asserts her rights at home with her spouse and in the society at large. While Rwanda has made some strides with gender friendly policies, Uwamariya observes that there are those who would like to think that “women have reached,” for instance, by being a majority at 64 percent in the Rwandan parliament. She asserts that it is not true the women “have reached.” There’s still some way to go.   

Follow the discussion here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tN_sJkW_70&app=desktop

Established in September 2012, the RWLI aims to expand and improve delivery of new skills and tools for women’s effective leadership; provide a space for sharing experiences and for networking to mobilize women for change; and offer state-of-the-art leadership training for the empowerment of young Rwandan women.

Rwanda Women's Network (RWN) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership program run by the Institute of International Education (IIE) , Ethiopia Office.

For more on IIE , ACE or RWN please follow the links below.

www.iie.org/

www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, 

www.rwandawomennetwork.org