The
COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into an unprecedented crisis that is heavily
affecting the livelihoods, the socio-economic stability and the security of
many families and communities in Africa. . The uncertainty, preventive and
containment measures against the pandemic, have introduced profound disruptions
that have had severe effects and posed unique challenges, particularly, to
women and girls on the continent. Indeed, like in many past crisis, COVID-19
has shown that women and girls are disproportionally affected, often finding
themselves at the forefront of fighting the pandemic, while playing little role
in the responses to the disease. Some of the challenges threaten to reverse the
accumulated gains on gender equality and women empowerment.
To
advance the strategies and actions against the existing and emerging threats
caused by the pandemic, the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) convened a
virtual consultation to better understand the impact of COVID19 on women in
Africa, share their knowledge and undertakings to feed into scenario planning
and orient responses at policy and action levels, now and in the recovery
period.
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The
meeting brought together women sitting and former Heads of State and
Government; ministers; the African Union (AU); United Nations (UN); development
partners and civil societies; and the youth, who held extensive deliberations
on the evolving nature of the effects of the pandemic on women and girls, but
also rallied for more commitment to protect, promote and enhance gender equality
and women empowerment. The meeting noted that the pandemic is aggravating
poverty, inequalities and gender-based violence (GBV), while increasing
vulnerability by impeding on people’s access to employment, food and other
resources with particular effects on women and girls.
Addressing
the meeting, H.E. Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, former president of the Republic of
Liberia and the AWLN patron, underscored the critical role of women
empowerment, reflecting on how the inclusion of women in leadership positions
have enabled the dismantling of the silo mentality that hinders sustainable
development on the continent. President Sirleaf lauded the resilience of women
during these uncertain times and called for the advancement of the gains and
prioritization of women rights during and post-pandemic. “The resilience of
women will take us forward today and what we want is to see women leadership
become a new normal, not exceptional. We should all become the voice against
inequality but also ensure the outcome of our meetings are integrated in the
African Union and United Nations practices and actions”, she observed.
H.E.
President Sahle-Work Zewde, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia and AWLN Pioneer cautioned against the restructuring of commitments
for women empowerment. She stated, “lockdowns have put more women at risk. We
must remain vigilant that COVID-19 is not used as an excuse to restructure and
under-prioritize the programmes and projects earmarked for women, now and
post-crisis.”
Speaking
on behalf of the AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki, Deputy Chairperson Amb.
Kwesi Quartey restated the commitment of the Union to protect and promote the
rights of women adding that Agenda 2063 can only be realized with the full and
meaningful inclusion of women and girls. “Non-discrimination against women and
girls has been restated during this COVID-19 crisis and we laud the AU
Commission Directorate of Women and Gender Development for developing the
Gender Responsive Responses which are key in ensuring the rights and interest
women and girls are included in the fight against this pandemic now as we all
as post the crisis”, he observed.
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In
a statement on behalf of the UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed,
Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the AU, Hannah Tetteh,
highlighted the concerns of the exploitation of the pandemic by oppressive
regimes, to violate human rights and called on the authorities to protect the
citizenry and especially women and girls who bear the heaviest brunt of such
violations. She noted, “this crisis has exposed how inequalities do not just
harm women but the communities as a whole. There are opportunities in this
moment to make information more accessible to women and explore opportunities
to make the discussions more inclusive. Let us also have our eyes on the
recovery plan to ensure the gains women have made are not reversed.”
A
red flag was raised on the rise of the cases of gender based violence on women
who are locked in homes, in conflict zones and Internally Displaced Persons
(IDP) camps, which increased risk of intimate partner violence. Other
consequences include the digital divide that have dire effects on education,
potential of trafficking, child marriage, forced prostitution and sexual
exploitation as quarantine and other social distancing measures impact economic
and livelihood activities, as well as impede the delivery of basic humanitarian
services.
The
consultations discussed at lengths opportunities for scaling up of actions on
gender equality and women’s empowerment and other key issues such as actions to
address the projected rise in poverty levels, food security and supporting
women in agriculture and agri-business; supporting frontline healthcare
workers; securing the rights of women in governance and leadership with the 17
outstanding elections in 2020; addressing threats of abuse on online platforms
and perpetuation of fake news; enhancing the role and inclusion of women in
domestic and regional trade; young women’s leadership and measures to address
and protect women and girls against sexual and gender based violence among
other key issues.
Contributions
were made by AWLN Pioneer leaders amongst others, H.E. Jewel Howard Taylor,
Vice-President of the Republic of Liberia; H.E. Dr. Joyce Banda, Former
President of Malawi; H.E. Ms. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Former President of
Mauritius; H.E. Catherine Samba-Panza, Former President of the Central African
Republic; Amb. Raychelle Awour Omamo, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs
(Kenya) and HE Michelle Müntefering, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (Germany). The meeting was also addressed by AU Commissioners, senior
officials from the UN System; Amb. Rebecca Otengo, Chairperson of AWLN Group of
Friends at the AUC; the African Union Youth Envoy and civil societies.
AWLN
is an initiative of African women leaders with the support of the AU and the
UN, under their institutional framework and has established twenty-five (25)
national chapters around the continent. Its actions are focused on six priority
pillars of governance, peace and security, finance, youth’s leadership,
agriculture and social mobilization.
The
meeting was facilitated by AWLN conveners, Bineta Diop, AU Special Envoy on
Women, Peace and Security and Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, USG and UN Women
Executive Director.
:
Doreen Apollos, Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission, E-mail: ApollosD@africa-union,org | www.au.int|Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
AWLN Secretariat:
Dr. Jean-Bosco Butera, Chief of Staff and Special Advisor, Office of the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, ButeraJ@africa-union.org
Ms. Verlaine-Diane Soobroydoo, Policy Adviser and Coordinator of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), Verlaine.soobroydoo@unwomen.org
Doreen Apollos, Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission, E-mail: ApollosD@africa-union,org | www.au.int|Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
AWLN Secretariat:
Dr. Jean-Bosco Butera, Chief of Staff and Special Advisor, Office of the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, ButeraJ@africa-union.org
Ms. Verlaine-Diane Soobroydoo, Policy Adviser and Coordinator of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), Verlaine.soobroydoo@unwomen.org
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