Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, has made a passionate call on world leaders to address the issue of gender inequality, poverty and the harsh socio-economic conditions women in Africa are faced with by providing the right tools of empowerment for women which could lead them out from the wrong side of history.
VP Taylor made the call in Russia when she made remarks on the ever evolving role of women in the integrated development of Africa at a Eurasian Women Forum held in Russia recently. She said as varied and as large the continent, African women are a peculiar species and have been given the singular responsibility to carry, nurture, sustain, develop and groom the next generation of leaders and this expectation remains, regardless of one’s social status.
“In order for women to become fully engaged in the integrated development of Africa, they must be EMPOWERED. This, according to UNDP, is primarily the self-awareness of potential capabilities and the means and tools to launch and benefit from them. I am of the belief that the self-awareness of our capabilities has dawned on Women of the Continent; but the issue remains the means and tools to benefit therefrom”.
She noted that Women represent half the African population, and are the main pillars of economic development who continue to be disadvantaged from a wide range of issues – from an unjust social system, to discriminatory practices both in terms of gender equality and in economic empowerment. “This is a glaring reflection on their social, educational and cultural status. Though some small progress has been made to address these myriad of issues; the fact remains that there are still social and economic challenges that prevent African Women from being fully engaged in the transformation and development of Africa”, she said.
She said that though the women folks have many impediments in their way, their great achievements have always been the tenacity to try to put things Right. She stated that in whatever situation the continent finds itself such as in times of War, women are the first responders, the scavengers for food, the fearless ones who put themselves between the guns and their families and in times of peace, are the mediators and the sustainers of the peace. “Unfortunately, once the conflict moves into the phase for development – Women are usually shoved aside and seen as unfit to govern or lead”.
“The lingering question then remains; DO WE HAVE ROLES TO PLAY IN THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA? My answer is an unequivocal YES. The Covid Pandemic made plain the significant roles that women can play in turning the situation around; as the usual attributes of Womanhood”, she opined..
Mrs. Taylor who is heading the Liberian delegation that also included Senator Botoe Kanneh of Gbarpolu County, Representative Attoh Wreh and others said women automatically, across Africa rose up to the challenge to protect, provide, secure and safe their families from the pandemic. She said women were health care providers, social workers, counselors, made sure food was available and delivered to the most vulnerable and shared HOPE and RESILIENCE to the people.
“In closing, I am glad to report that African Women have taken up the following ROLES to accelerate African Integrated Development by driving the emergency response efforts, delivering equitable, gender-responsive, and inclusive health systems, educating girls to lead the transformation , driving the narrative for full engagement in the African continental free trade area (afctfa), innovating across the tech spectrum ,being change agents for positive social change ,being positive role models which change the negative social biases and stepping up, standing out and believing that they can be all they want to be, she concluded.
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