Source: Femnet
Women's rights organizations from across Africa call for gender equality concerns to be fully integrated into the Common Africa Position being developed on the Post 2015 development agenda. 

Through a number of consultations that took place across the continent, common priorities that emerged include ensuring:

1. Women and girls have access to, control over and ownership of resources, including land, energy, technology, credit and information
2. Zero Tolerance on all forms of sexual and gender based violence
3. Gender parity in all decision making spaces
4. Universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including Family Planning and access to safe abortion within national laws and elimination of all barriers to integrated services
5. Recognize the care economy and unpaid care work

These common priorities were reiterated at a side event dubbed 'The Africa Women Want Beyond 2015' that took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Addis in the margins of the 22nd AU Summit. The event was attended by over 85 participants from over 12 countries representing diverse geographical, social, organizational and generational backgrounds and included representatives from the African Union Commission, UN Agencies, Missions in Addis Ababa, media and participants from civil society. The side event was organized by FEMNET in conjunction with Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD), Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), Ipas Africa Alliance, International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC), Solidarity for African Women's Rights (SOAWR), Equality Now and World YWCA.

Participants urged policy makers to ensure that both the Common Africa Position on Post 2015 and Agenda 2063 must be progressive, rather than regressive and build on the gains such as the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women. They also emphasized that our frameworks that will guide our development paradigm for generations to come must be based on human rights and be people driven, owned and centred. Through dialogue with participants, recommendations were made on how best to ensure gender is integrated through a two- pronged approach that calls for a stand-alone pillar on gender as well as gender mainstreaming so as to enrich the Common Africa Position and ensure it reflects the realities, aspirations and ambitions of African women.

We urge the AU Member States to finalize and adopt a forward looking Common African Position that delivers for women and girls.