UN body launches network to boost women's leadership of Africa

A network that, among others, intends to support the advancement of more women leaders on the African continent has been launched.

The African Women Leaders Network  is a ground-breaking initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa with a focus on governance, peace and stability, a press release issued by UN Women on Friday said.

It has been launched by UN Women, the African Union Commission and the Permanent Mission of Germany

"The Network aims to harness the wealth of African women's experiences of leadership, build on other existing and emerging networks of women leaders, as well as develop new partnerships to strengthen the capacity of women." The release said.

"It intends to support the advancement of more women leaders on the continent, through peer learning and mentoring, to enhance their contributions to building and sustaining peace, security and political processes for sustainable economic and social transformation, towards the realization of Africa Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."

The Network was launched following the three-day High-Level Women Leaders Forum for Africa's Transformation, which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from May 31 2017 to June 2, 2017, a press release issued by UN Women on Friday said.

Over time, women on the continent have been increasingly more visible as politicians and senior civil servants, in a context of greater public acceptance of women as political leaders. In Liberia, for example, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was the first woman to be elected President of an African nation in 2006. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians in the world at 61 percent.

The press release noted that at the grassroots level, women have been at the forefront of community peace building in post-conflict countries including Liberia, Rwanda and more recently in Burundi.

They have also led efforts to counter the Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, that swept several countries across West Africa.

"Yet, the continent still presents a mixed picture, as the political participation of women has not translated into consistent and lasting influence of women in decision-making. In several countries, recent elections saw a regression in the number of women elected to parliament, especially in countries where there were no temporary special measures like quotas."

The Network aims to reconvene in February 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Until then, a task force will work on the details of the Network and fine-tune a roadmap, including the purpose, structure and activities, as well as draft strategies for sustainability, funding and intergenerational partnerships.