Category: News

On the 17th of March 2011, AWDF’s President Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi delivered the Centre for Democracy Development’s flagship annual public lecture on the topic, “Democratisation and Women in Africa-Progress, Stagnation and Retreat”.

The audio of the full lecture can be accessed here Bisi’s speech at CDD

 

 

 

 

This post is inspired by the 100^th anniversary of International Women’s Day. There are quite a few IWD lists being published today, throughout the world. At AWDF, we canvassed our team and came up with our own list of 50 inspirational African feminists. We know that there are far, far more women than we could include in our list, but we wanted to at least make a start at celebrating the achievements of some of these great women – and we hope our friends will forgive us our omissions! Take a look and let us know who else you would have added.

Inspiring African Feminists

 

By the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)

This week saw the landmark conviction of Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi and 9 government soldiers of crimes against humanity for the horrific mass rapes that women experienced on New Year’s Day in the village of Fizi in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

AWDF hopes that this successful prosecution of a commanding officer and his subordinates begins to stem the tide of impunity that has long persisted in the DRC. The war being fought on the bodies of Congolese women must stop now. Ending the culture of impunity which allows men (including soldiers and government officials) to rape women at will with no fear of retribution is a crucial step in creating societies in which women can live in peace and with dignity.

We salute the courage of the Congolese women who, in spite of threats against their lives, testified against the soldiers who had raped them and terrorized their village. We stand in solidarity and send congratulations to the many Congolese, African and international activists and women’s rights organizations that continue the struggle for the safety of women and girls in the DRC and redress against the ongoing violence perpetrated against them. And we appreciate the innovative resources that our partners, especially the Open Society Initiative (OSI) put into creating better lives for women and girls in the DRC. Without OSI’s support for mobile courts this landmark case may not have been possible.

AWDF will continue to work with women’s rights organizations in the DRC in their ongoing efforts to promote, protect and realize the human rights of all women and girls.

Women of Substance is about the energy and commitment that African Women put into shaping Africa through their local, national and regional initiatives. In this abbreviated version of a 42 minute documentary produced by the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF(, grantee organisations speak about the critical work and transformatory impact of AWDF’s funding and capacity building support in their lives for the past ten years.

Feminist activists featured include President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Margaret Dongo of Zimbabwe, Angela Dwamena-Aboagye of Ghana, the founders of AWDF (Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Joana Foster, Dr Hilda Tadria), Theo Sowa of Ghana/UK, Patricia Babiiha of Uganda, Siphiwe Hhlope of Swaziland and Prudence Mabele of South Africa.

To watch the abbreviated version of ‘Women of Substance’ please click here

A Snapshot of the African Women’s Development Fund at 10

The African Women’s Development Fund has been featured in the January 2011 edition of New African Woman. Please visit http://headley.co.uk/headturner/NAWwinter2010 to read the magazine online.

The following organisations have received grants from AWDF for a range of awareness raising activities on World AIDS day. These are:

AGIR Mozambique	Mozambique
Alive with Purpose (Kamuda)	Uganda
Alliances for Africa	Nigeria
Centre fr Recherches et d’Actions pour la Promotion du Leadership Feminin-ONG Fondation Jeunesse Uni	Benin
Childolescent and Family Survival Organization – Women’s Rights Action Group(CAFSO-WRAG)	Nigeria
Disabled People of Kwa- Thema (DPKT)	Nigeria
Heal the Land Initiative in Nigeria	Nigeria
Kenya Widows and Orphans Support Programme(KWOSP)	Kenya
Kigurunyembe Women Group for Alleviation of Poverty (KIWOGA)	Tanzania
Lihop Organization	Ghana
Nana Yaa Memorial Trust for Good Quality Maternity Services	Ghana
Poverty Fighters and Development Society of Tanzania (POFIDESO)	Tanzania
SAIL – Uganda (Spread AIDS Awareness Information & Learning in Uganda)	Uganda
Strength for All Association	Ghana
Swahombe Dramatic Ensemble	South Africa
Tanzania Social Mobilization Against Poverty (TASMAPO)	Tanzania
WOMANKIND Nigeria	Nigeria
Women and Children of Hope Foundation (WCH)	Nigeria
Women in Action Against Gender Based Violence (Wacameroon)	Cameroun
Women United Against Aids in Ghana (WUAAG)	Ghana

AWDF has awarded grants to the following organisations to commemorate 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.

They are:

ABANTU for Development-NIGERIA	Nigeria
Actions pour la Re insertion Sociale de la femme	Democratic Republic of Congo
Association des Femmes pour le Developpement de la Cuniculture	Benin
Association Odjougbo	Togo
Association pour le Reinforment des capacities des Communes (ARCC)	Mali
Association Wendinyalgde	Burkina Faso
Centre d’Appui a la Production de la Femme Rurale (CEPROFER)	Democratic Republic of Congo
Cercle d’Aide Femme- Enfant	Togo
Coast Women in Development (CWID)	Kenya
Creative Centre for Communication and Development (CCCD)	Zimbabwe
Gender Violence Survivor Support Network (GVSSN)	Ghana
Guidance and Councelling Development Association	Nigeria
Jumuiya Women Group (JWG)	Kenya
Kagisano Society- Women’s Shelter Project	Botswana
New Liberian Women Organisation/Skills Training Centre	Liberia
Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre (NORSAAC)	Ghana
Pro-Hope International (Gambia)	The Gambia
WA AFRICA	Guinee
Zenab for Women in Development	Sudan

“African Women and Political Participation”

Lecture by

H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

President of the Republic of Liberia

On the Occasion of the 10^th Anniversary

Of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)

Accra, Ghana, Friday, November 12, 2010

Madam Chair, Madam Executive Director;

Your Excellency Madam Vice President of the Republic of Malawi;

The Board of Directors, Officers and Members of the AWDF;

Ministers, Officials of Government;

Members of Parliament;

Members of the Diplomatic Corps;

Donors, Grant Beneficiaries;

Distinguished Guests;

My African Sisters;

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:

Heartfelt congratulations to you, AWDF Sisters, on reaching your tenth year! You have succeeded in your goals; you have weathered the global economic crisis; you have demonstrated resilience and determination to succeed in your noble cause to promote leadership and empowerment for African women.

When Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi invited me, almost a year ago, to be a part of the AWDF’s 10^th Anniversary Celebration, she knew that by asking me so far in advance I could not say no, although I was not sure what my schedule would be a whole year away. I agreed, and we duly blocked the dates ensuring that whatever events came before or after November 12^th and 13^th had to give way to my AWDF commitment.

This was a typical Bisi foresight – the same foresight that led her, and colleagues Joanna Foster and Hilda Tadria, to establish the AWDF 10 years ago. Today we can boast of an organization that has funded numerous initiatives to promote African women’s leadership and empowerment here in Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe, and many, many more since its founding.

Liberia particularly applauds the AWDF for the role they have played in promoting the welfare of women in our country. The establishment and support of the Sirleaf Market Women Fund has brought together some 12 partners with funding close to $2 million for the construction and renovation of 13 markets throughout the country. This does not include perhaps the first of its kind, the $500,000 donated by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for the construction of the Omega Market, which is expected to assist more than 7,000 market women. Bisi, Hilda and Thelma (a former Board Chair), Joanna you played a large role in all of this, a big thank you.

AWDF also played an essential role, as “Theme Lead,” in the preparatory phase of the March 2009 International Women’s Colloquium in Monrovia which brought together some 1,100 women from 54 countries to join some 900 local women in a parallel session. The AWDF was responsible for driving the process for empowering women to be more effective leaders by linking with their peers around the world.

The legacy of that 2009 Colloquium was the establishment of the Angie Brooks International Centre (ABIC) at the University of Liberia campus near Monrovia, which will serve as the implementation mechanism for the Colloquium’s program of work. It will also extend its reach to the Madam Suakoko Center at Cuttington University in rural Liberia. The Center, still in its infancy, has benefited much from AWDF funding and expertise. On behalf of the scores of women who will come to the ABIC to engage in training, research, analysis, partnership, networking and advocacy, and profit from the experiences of others, we express profound thanks to the AWDF.

Certainly with this backdrop of how Liberia has benefitted , I can do no less than to be here today to declare what a singular honor it is for me to deliver a lecture commemorating AWDF’s 10^th anniversary. Any organization with a vision to better and transform the lives of people – most especially African women – is deserving of staunch and unswerving support. I am also proud to be a part of the launching of the Hawa Yakubu Memorial Fund. She was very good to us during the campaign. To the family of Hawa Yakubu, let me say how grateful I am for the role she played in my success. [applause]

To the host city, Accra, let me confess that I always welcome the occasion to visit Ghana – a country that sets the standard as a role model of success for Africa in so many ways, and which has been, and remains, a refuge for so many Liberians. Thank you, Ghana, for your gracious hospitality and warmth, and for the wonderful reception we always receive whenever we are in this country. [applause]

AFRICAN WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

Dear Sisters; Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:

The topic of today’s Seminar, “African Women and Political Participation,” is one on which I can speak with some authority – as an African, as a woman, and as a politician.

Every woman here knows, or has experienced, the difficulty in bringing women into the fold of political participation across our continent – from the grassroots up to the highest office in the land.

You are here this evening because you believe that women’s full political participation can and must happen, not only in Rwanda, South Africa or Mozambique, but in all corners of this vast continent that is our home. In overcoming the multiple challenges which we as African women confront, it is vital that there be trailblazers such as the AWDF which are striving determinedly for all our women to be empowered.

We are seeing progress in African women’s participation in politics, no doubt, although not at the levels we demand. The job of full equality and total empowerment is incomplete. Let us remember that in the fight to empower women, we can accept no frontiers, only breakthroughs. [applause]

Governance cuts across all spheres of representation and decision-making, from the community to national levels. Full political participation will become a reality for us, as women, when quotas and set-asides become a relic of the past; when our access in participatory institutions at all levels is considered a right; and when we no longer feel compelled to wage campaigns and stage protests in order to have a say in the decisions that affect our lives – be it at the peace table or in the political and economic arenas.

There is power in numbers. The lone female voices one encounters in political circles, including in Africa, are insufficient to effect the changes that are so important to women. As a tiny minority in governance, women could be subjected to pressures, and their capacities as representatives, policy makers and decision takers are constrained by their numbers. We still need those numbers in critical mass to make those decisions and make them stick. In such low numbers, and with insufficient clout, women ministers tend to be relegated to, and concentrated in, social areas rather than legal, economic, political and technical functions of government.

It goes without saying that when women are represented in critical numbers in parliaments, as well as at the grassroots level, their perspectives and interests will be taken into account and their concerns given higher priority. Greater political participation will also allow women to make a meaningful impact on democracy, and to sustain the effort for the empowerment and representation of women.

A GLOBAL OVERVIEW

Dear Friends: The low political participation by women is not limited to Africa; it is global, with the Nordic countries being among the notable exceptions.

Today, out of 192 United Nations Member States, there are only 18 women, either elected or appointed in the highest positions of government. That figure inched up by one with the election, just last week, of Dilma Rousseff as the first female Head of State of Brazil. [applause] When she takes office in January 2011, she will preside over the largest country in Latin America, with a population of over 192 million, 45 percent of which are people of African descent. We welcome her to our tiny circle. [laughter]

Globally, women’s representation in parliaments stands at 18.2 percent – the highest it has ever been, but still not high enough. Today only 22 countries have achieved a critical mass of 30 percent or higher women representation in their national parliaments, mainly as a result of constitutional quotas written into law and requiring that a certain percentage of political positions be occupied by women.

Of that number, six are African countries: Burundi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. These countries succeeded because they recognized the importance of equity between women and men in decision-making and they instituted changes in their electoral and parliamentary processes.

The world applauds Rwanda as having the highest number of women parliamentarians, at 56.3 percent, followed by Sweden, at 47 percent. Rwanda succeeded by implementing a gender quota system. With a population of 70 percent female following the 1994 genocide, women had to assume traditional male roles. Able, finally, to participate in the drafting of a new constitution and new legislative structures, they pushed for greater equality in politics through such initiatives as a constitutional quota and election law quotas to ensure women’s place at the political table. Rwanda serves as a case study, an example for other countries seeking a more equal representation of women in politics.

Let us also recognize South Africa, which leapt from 17^th to 3^rd place, behind Rwanda and Sweden, in the global ranking. That country has experienced an 11 percent increase in women’s political representation, from 34 percent to 45 percent. Prior to democratic elections held there in 1994, there were only 2.7 percent of women in the South African Parliament; the figure increased to 27 percent following the elections and has been growing ever since. We applaud the enlightened male leaders who played key roles in this success.

My country, Liberia, is a strong advocate of the seminal UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which seeks greater representation of women at all decision-making levels in politics and in crisis management activities. We are only at 12 percent – the highest it has ever been in Liberia – yet far below an acceptable percentage of women in our National Legislature or in other leadership areas.

Women’s groups are pressuring for 30 percent political representation. The Gender Equity in Politics Act 2010, sponsored by the Women Legislative Caucus, is now before the Legislature. It calls for no less than 30 percent representation of women in national elected offices and political parties. As you may well imagine, the proposed legislation is facing serious challenges from a male-dominated Legislature, whose members argue that competition, rather than gender, should be the criterion for representation. Since there is no mutual exclusivity here, you can be assured that our women are neither defeated nor are they backing down, and we will continue to push until this necessary objective is achieved.

The number of women in our Cabinet, our National Legislature and the Judiciary continues to increase; not as fast as we want, but in significant enough numbers so that progress is measurable and noticeable.

You may have heard, or read, that a week ago I created a bit of turbulence when I placed my entire Cabinet on administrative leave, including the six female Ministers who held strategic positions at the Justice, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce, Gender and Development, and Youth and Sports Ministries. Let me put on record that our women Ministers have been effective and transparent in leadership, and I have no doubt that the majority – all of them dynamic, hard-working, imbued with integrity, and wholly committed to our development agenda – and you can be sure they will continue their invaluable service to our country. [applause]

At the local governmental level, our women are visible, with 40 percent representation. Women serve as superintendents in 6 of our 15 counties; as mayors of cities, including our capital, Monrovia; as heads of public corporations, including the National Port Authority, the gateway to our nation’s economy. Junior Ministers across sectors account for more than 30 percent of women in our government.

In recognition of our efforts to empower, support, and protect women in our society, including the implementation of Liberia’s National Plan of Action on Resolution 1325 – one of the first to be concluded in Africa –Liberia was named the winner of this year’s prestigious Millennium Development Goal Three Award. [applause] We owe that to all of you who have been a part of our success. We were recognized for outstanding leadership, commitment and progress toward the achievement of MDG-3 through the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment across the country.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: THE 1990s AND BEYOND

The gains in women’s political participation in Africa did not happen overnight; they have been earned over decades by Sisters who dared to challenge the status quo. Prior to the 1990s, it was unthinkable – in my country, for sure – that a woman could run for the presidency in Africa. In 1997, I challenged that stereotype and ran for President of Liberia. I lost, bested by a well-financed military machine. I ran again in 2003 for Chairman of the Interim Government right here in Accra during the peace talks. Although I received the highest vote from the participating civilian groups, the warring factions with regional backing placed the leadership in others hands, in retrospect, a blessing in disguise. Undeterred, I ran for President again in 2005, and this time the outcome was in my favor.

I am proud to be the first democratically elected female President in Africa. [applause] It is my fervent hope, and prayer, that what I accomplished will not be a one-off; that a woman running for President in Africa will become the norm, not the exception, for many more women across our continent. [applause]

I continue to be encouraged by the women with whom I interact across Africa. They see in my presidency a validation of something they have always believed, that “It is possible. We can make it happen.” You in this room have to work to make it happen. It is my great privilege to be a source of inspiration to you, the women of Africa, with aspirations to occupy the highest political positions in the land.

Other African women have dared to run for the highest office in their countries since my first attempt. Charity Ngilu and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai ran in Kenya’s 1998 presidential election, and Ngilu ran again in 2002; Tanzania, Sierra Leone and more recently Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire have seen women compete. Dr. Sarah Jibril of Nigeria, for the fifth time, has thrown her hat into the race for the upcoming 2011 presidential elections. Despite their unsuccessful bids, these women, undaunted, set important precedents and several have assumed other important leadership roles. We have one right here with us today, the Vice President of Malawi. Africa needs more daring women to step forward. [applause]

Prior to the 1990s, the only female African Heads of State got there by virtue of being royalty – Zauditu, Empress of Ethiopia, who ruled between 1917 and 1930; and two who served for brief periods as Queen-regents of Swaziland in the 1980s. Africa’s first female Prime Minister was Elizabeth Domitien of the Central African Republic, who served in the 1970s.

In the 1990s, African women claimed national leadership visibility in noticeable numbers. Liberia’s Ruth Perry served on the six-member collective presidency, chairing the Council of State between 1996 and 1997. Uganda’s Wandera Specioza Kazibwe became the first female Vice President in 1994. From 1993 to 1994, women served as Prime Ministers of Burundi and of Rwanda, while Senegal claimed a female Vice President in 2001. Gambia continues to have a very active female Vice President and in like mode is our dear Sister from Malawi who is here with us today. Countries in East and Southern Africa have also had women as Speakers and Deputy Speakers of Parliament.

Africa, which had the lowest female participation in politics in the 1960s, is today seeing the fastest rates of growth of women in politics. A comparative analysis with other parts of the world would conclude that some African countries are doing relatively well, although none come close to proportionately representing women – Rwanda, again, being the exception. Women have made important strides in terms of political participation and their rise to top-level economic and political management portfolios, but there is still a huge gender gap worldwide, and a long way to go before women can be treated as full equals and partners to their male counterparts.

At the same time, we are seeing the growth of groups that campaign for women’s political leadership, press for legislative and constitutional changes, and conduct civic education. This divergence commenced in the 1990s when women began to form their own political parties because existing ones in the multiparty context did not adequately address women’s concerns. Women founded the National Party in Zambia in 1991, the Zimbabwe Union of Democrats in 1999, Kopanang Basotho in Lesotho, as well as women-led parties in Kenya, the Central African Republic, and in Angola.

Let me recall some of the factors that account for African women’s new visibility in the political arena as independent actors:

Ø The move towards multi-party politics which lessened the need for mass organizations linked to and directed by a single ruling party;

Ø Increased educational opportunities for girls and women which created a larger pool of capable women who were positioned to vie for political power;

Ø An increasing number of women experienced in creating and sustaining associations and social and economic networks;

Ø The availability of donor funds, channeled through international and local NGOs like the AWDF, religious groups, and foundations, which spurred the growth of national-level organizations that support women’s participation in civic education, constitutional and legislative reform, leadership training and programs for women parliamentarians; and

Ø Stronger commitment to women’s increased representation by a country’s leadership, especially ones with female Heads of State.

The emergence of these independent associations means that for the first time many women’s movements could select their own leaders and set their own agendas.

CHALLENGES IN THE POLITICAL ARENA

Despite the advances I have cited, women have yet to see enormous payoffs in being elected into office and receiving political appointments. An important reason is that women often lack the resources, political experience, education and political connections to run for office. Popular perceptions are that a woman’s place is in the home, and in the kitchen, rather than in politics and corporate boardrooms. Cultural attitudes which constrain women’s involvement in politics persist among men and women. These are oftentimes reflected in voting patterns, media coverage of female politicians, as well as attempts to suppress women’s assertion of their political rights and views.

Such attitudes are not helped by the fact that women themselves are many times reluctant to run for office, stemming from cultural prohibitions on women being seen and speaking in public in front of men or challenge them. Where these prohibitions are strong, men do not listen to women who take the podium or are active in politics.

Campaigning and being a leader often involves travel and time away from home, all of which put women politicians at risk and at a disadvantage due to gender bias. Would-be female politicians may find themselves and their families under attack or the subject of malicious gossip. Some husbands forbid their wives from engaging in politics, fearing that they will interact with other men [laugh], or worrying that their spouse’s political preoccupations will divert her attention from the home.

How, then, can we address and overcome the hurdles placed in women’s path towards political participation and representation? It is one thing to legislate that women be represented at all decision-making levels; it is quite another to change the attitudes and mind-set of those who would obstruct that access. With men making up the other half of the world’s 6.8 billion people, it is imperative that we reach out to them if we are to succeed in our overall goals and objectives. We have to work harder.

Together with efforts to persuade men of the need to allow women political space and access, grassroots action is also essential in order to groom future women political leaders. That will require advocates to: develop rosters of viable female candidates to participate fully in the political arena; encourage women to register to vote and educate them about the electoral processes; teach female aspirants how to run effective campaigns; and enhance their leadership capacity. Female aspirants will also require training in how to seek elective offices, to articulate the issues, and how to acquire funding in order to run successful campaigns. Unless we can train and prepare women to compete for political office at all levels, their representation and participation in political bodies will remain low until such time that legislation setting gender quotas are enacted into law.

AFRICA’S FUTURE: ITS WOMEN

Africa faces many challenges, all of them highlighted in the Millennium Development Goals – poverty, high illiteracy, sexual violence, high infant and maternal mortality rates, HIV/AIDS, the effects of climate change, and a litany of other woes. In such a landscape, let us not make the mistake of not harnessing the potential of one-half of Africa’s population – its women.

Africa’s history is replete with incidences of the marginalization and exclusion of women. That history likewise shows the incredible potential of women to persevere, to lead, to resolve conflict, and to move a country from chaos onto the path of social and economic development.

I can recall in Liberia’s own experience that it was the women, notably the Mano River Women Peace Network (MARWOPNET), the Liberia Women Initiative, among others, who labored and advocated for peace. I pledged, upon assuming office, that my Administration would endeavor to give Liberian women prominence in all affairs of our country; to empower them in all areas of our national life; to support and expand the laws to restore women’s dignity and deal drastically with crimes that dehumanized them; to encourage families to educate the girl child; and to provide programs to enable our women to participate in our nation’s economic revitalization.

To ensure that in the Liberia of tomorrow, women will have full equality with men, special focus is being directed at educating, capacitating and empowering girls and young women who, despite certain gains, continue to lag behind the men in access to education, resources and opportunities. The glaring reality, in Liberia and elsewhere, is that, from the beginning of their lives, female children get less attention, less education, less of everything. Girls’ education and, in some places, girls’ lives, are treated as less valuable, thereby establishing a pattern that constrains women their entire lives, affecting their ability to make decisions at all levels of their societies.

We are therefore training our people to understand the vitality of girls’ education, to appreciate that when you educate a girl, you educate a family, a nation. At the same time, we are emphasizing the important role that can be played by women in the informal sector, those who sweat and blood keep our economy vibrant in difficult times. Literacy and skills training for our market and grass-roots women are a must for women advancement.

I think it is prophetic that, less than a week after a speech in the United States about “Africa and Its Place in the World,” I am here discussing a related topic. I told the audience in Richmond, Virginia, that despite significant gains, much remains to be done about the place of women in African society, and that Africa’s future as an engine of global economic growth will be directly linked to the status of women on the continent. [applause] For in the long run, Ladies and Gentlemen, this continent will rise when women take roles as educated and equal partners in society. There is no doubt in my mind that women are the future of Africa, and its leaders must invest in women’s development, if they want their country, and our continent, to advance in the 21^st century and beyond.

At my Inaugural, in January 2006, I addressed the women of Africa, Sisters all. I said, then, that I am one of you; that I know what you go through daily, confronting tremendous odds, for I have been there. I feel your enormous support in all that I am endeavoring to achieve, and I am keenly sensitive of your expectations from me. I promised not to disappoint you, not to let you down. I trust that I am keeping that promise.

I feel honored, to stand here, not only as a woman leader and representative of the people of Liberia, but also of women throughout Africa and the world, in our just and determined struggle to play a more prominent role in society.

I see myself as representing the aspirations and expectations of women everywhere. My success is your success, as it opens the door even wider to many other women who will step up. As women, there is a commonality in what we go through. For no matter where we come from, there is still a measure of discrimination to overcome because of our gender. It is imperative that we work together, and pull together, and be supportive of each other, in order to strengthen and uplift women everywhere.

Finally, let me again congratulate the African Women’s Development Fund for reaching this milestone. I urge the many donors to continue their financial and in-kind support, and call upon the beneficiaries of these grants to ensure that they are well spent.

I thank you.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) Celebrates its 10^th Anniversary in Accra, Ghana, November 11^th – 13^th

In June 2000, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) was launched through the efforts of its co-founders, Joana Foster (Ghana), Dr Hilda Tadria (Uganda) and Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi (Nigeria). AWDF is the first Africa-wide grant-making foundation and a decade after its launch is recognized as a leading feminist philanthropic institution on the continent. Over the past 10 years, AWDF has disbursed over US$15 million in grants to 800 African women’s rights organizations across the African continent and through its comprehensive capacity building programme strengthened institutions and progressive movements on the continent.

AWDF culminates its 10^th Anniversary celebrations in Accra, Ghana with a schedule of events including:

• Thursday 11^th November 2010, 10:00am – Commissioning of a multi-purpose resource centre purchased by AWDF for Women United Against AIDS in Ghana (WUAGG), Ayensu River Estate, Damfa. The Honourable Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS Free World and former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa will commission the building.

• Thursday 11^th November 2010, 4:00pm – A convening on African women using the arts to promote social justice and a Premiere of ‘The Motherland Tour’ with Special Guest Yvonne Chaka Chaka at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Accra.

• Friday 12^th November 2010, 9:00am – 4.30pm – A Seminar on Political Participation with Special Guest, Vice-President Joyce Banda of Malawi at La Palm Royal Hotel, Accra

• Friday 12^th November 2010, 4.30pm – AWDF’s Anniversary Lecture delivered by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra

• Saturday 13^th November 2010, 6.30pm – The Purple Ball and Women of Substance Awards honouring African women working tirelessly to make a difference in their communities, La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra.

According to Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Executive Director of AWDF and the First Lady of Ekiti State Nigeria, “ In its 10 years of existence AWDF has been extremely successful at creating spaces and amplifying the voices of African women within the continent and beyond. We have done this by resourcing African women’s organizations, supporting the participation of African women in international processes and re-invigorating the African women’s movement. On the occasion of our 10^th Anniversary we wish to honour and recognize the numerous African women who work tirelessly for social justice and women’s empowerment.”

AWDF’s Women of Substance Awardees 2010 are:

Abeka Perez – Young Women Campaign Against AIDS, Kenya

Felicia Darkwa – Nana Yaa Memorial Trust for Good Quality Reproductive Health, Ghana

Hadijah Kisembo – Disabled Women’s Network and Resource Organisation (DWNRO), Uganda

Kafui Adjamgbo-Johnson – Women in Law and Development, (WILDAF) Togo

Leymah Gbowee – Women Peace and Security Network Africa, (WIPSEN-Africa), Liberia

Nyoka Agnes – Member of Parliament, Sudan

Prof. Bene Madunagu – Girls’ Power Initiative, Nigeria

Prudence Mabele – Positive Women’s Network (PWN), South Africa

Dr Rose Mensah Kutin – Abantu for Development, Ghana

Special guests from across Africa, Europe and the United States are attending AWDF’s 10^th Anniversary activities in Accra, including:

Her Excellency, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia

Her Excellency, Vice President Joyce Banda, Malawi

Her Excellency Mrs Funmilayo Olayinka, Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Her Excellency, Mrs Abimbola Fashola, First Lady of Lagos State, Nigeria

Her Ladyship Justice Irene Charity Danquah, Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ghana

Honourable Stephen Lewis, Co-Director, AIDS Free World, United States of America

Honourable Akua Dansua, Minister for Youth & Sports, Ghana

Honourable Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Minister for Women & Children’s Affairs, Ghana

Honourable Hannah Tetteh, Minister for Trade & Industry, Ghana

Dr Adhiambo Odaga, West Africa Representative, Ford Foundation, Nigeria

ENDS

Press Enquiries

Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah (Programme Officer for Communications)

Tel: +233 302 521 257

Email: nana@africlub.net/awdf

Website: www.africlub.net/awdf