Does this statement make any sense to you?

AFRICAN WOMEN CAN CHANGE AFRICA FOR THE BETTER if supported.
Does this statement make any sense to you?

It does make sense to me. Why? Because, I see women highly involved in activities in all spheres of life, be it economic, social, or what have you, giving their best for the betterment of all - men, boys, girls and themselves- but under extremely difficult circumstances created by the patriarchs of the world. I see women as human beings in their own right. In some cases, a woman does not own any resources, not even her own self. Where are the rights of women? Are women’s rights not human rights? Does this make sense to you?

Consider agriculture in Africa. In the fields, women compete with their male counterparts sometimes with babies on their backs. After the hard day’s work, we see them plod down the road with heavy head loads and still carrying babies. When they get home, they take charge of all the home affairs single handedly (probably with some help from the children). It is believed that agriculture is the main stay of African economies. Then if the women are supported can you imagine the gains to Africa? Statistics have it that women generally, service loans better than men. If women were empowered economically, what great development that would be? So, does it make sense to you, that African women can change the African continent for the better?

Talking about peace and tranquility, this has eluded most African women. Right from their homes to national levels, their hearts are almost always heated up. Their so-called lovely boy friends and husbands treat them to various degrees of violence. Some nations of the African continent are yet to acknowledge the values of true democracy and until then, the brunt ultimately has been on women and children. How productive will a person be if all she knows is violence? Wouldn’t it make sense if women were granted their right to peace and security?

Now, just take a stroll down the general health and reproductive rights of women, what do we see? Women are dying during childbirth, about 60% of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infected people on the African continent are women and they lack access to family planning. What about fathers, would they give their partners any chance to contribute to the decision making process of reproduction? Ok, having reproduced would all fathers join hands with their partners to take acceptable care of their children? If not, does this make any sense to you?

Not forgetting the right to education for women. Some African nations have scratched the surface, where are the rest? A Ghanaian scholar, Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey, said “when you educate a man you educate an individual, but when you educate a woman you educate a nation”. So, should a girl / woman be denied education? What sense does that make to you?

Doesn’t it make much sense therefore, that organisations such as the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and others should be supported to fund women’s initiatives in a well organised manner all over Africa working towards improvement of the lives of African women? If I may ask you, where is your heart?

By the way, how far is Africa with achieving the 8 MDGs especially MDG (3)? Year 2015 is right around the corner. Indeed, it makes much sense that supporting women’s empowerment would accelerate achievement of the MDGs and Africa will change for the better.

Grace Amenyogbeli
Administration Manager
AWDF