Human Rights of Women
Emphasising the commitment of the African Union (AU) to promoting gender equality, AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has called on African women to contribute to the continent’s renaissance.
As African nations celebrate the 50th anniversary of continental unity next month, an occasion dedicated to pan-Africanism and African renaissance, Dr. Zuma said women must play full part in building an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.
The AU chief executive was addressing African women entrepreneurs gathered in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, for the 8th African Congress for Women Entrepreneurs on Tuesday.
Jointly organised by the African Alliance for Women Empowerment (AFRAWE), Egyptian Business Women’s Association (EBWA), and Business and Professional Women-Egypt (BPW - Egypt), the congress will address, among other topics, women empowerment and Africa’s economic Integration.
Congress participants will also discuss the role of business women in economic development and co-operation with counterpart women groups from all over the world in ventures of mutual benefit.
“The AU is committed to promote gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment, and redress gender imbalance on the continent,” Dr. Zuma told the meeting participants.
On the OAU/AU anniversary, she said all Africans should use the occasion to celebrate and look back on what the continent has achieved and discuss how it should proceed towards attainment of the AU vision “driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena”.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the AU, which will be a little more than a decade since its birth.
AU leaders declared 2013 the Year of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance, which is the theme of the celebrations.