Gender equality

Young People can Capably Lead Africa Into the Future | The Youth Cafe

Young People can Capably Lead Africa Into the Future | The Youth Cafe

By Aya Chebbi, African Union Youth Envoy

Aya Chebbi of Tunisia is the first-ever youth envoy of the African Union. Her appointment in November 2018 boosts the AU’s efforts to include the talents and skills of the continent’s bulging youth population in achieving its Agenda 2063, a framework for Africa’s socioeconomic transformation. Ms. Chebbi is expected to promote, among other issues, youth leadership and participation in governance, gender equality, safe migration, employment and climate change action. Raphael Obonyo, a youth activist, interviewed Ms. Chebbi for Africa Renewal on a range of issues affecting Africa’s young people. These are excerpts.

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Economic Empowerment of Women Good for All | The Youth Cafe

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BY KINGSLEY IGHOBOR

Government staffer Souhayata Haidara enjoys talking about her life in a patriarchal society. Her career is a triumph of patience and perseverance, she tells Africa Renewal with a smile and a wink. Ms. Haidara, currently the Special Adviser to Mali’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, says she was lucky not to be married off at age 14 like some of her peers. Her father resisted pressure from suitors and relatives and insisted that the teenager be allowed to complete high school before getting married.

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African Women in Politics: Miles to go before parity is achieved | The Youth Cafe

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BY ZIPPORAH MUSAU

In the fight for gender equality, women around the world have advanced in small and large ways. Yet for women in Africa, progress is measured in micro steps, and the struggle has a long way to go. The good news is that women’s rep-resentation in political decision making has been on the rise globally. The not-so-good news is that the increase has been stubbornly slow, barely 1% in 2018 compared with the previous year. In 2018 the number of women ministers world-wide reached an all-time high at 20.7% (812 out of 3922).

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Looking Back at International Women's Day 2019 | Sport-In The Balance | The Youth Cafe

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Looking Back at International Women's Day 2019 | Sport-In The Balance | The Youth Cafe

By Jacqueline Njeri

40 years ago in 1979, the right of women and girls to participate in sports was affirmed. A balanced world is envisioned as a better world, for women, men, children, and youth. Balance being where and when opposing forces combine. It is truly an instinctive picture of collaboration. To come together with every intention to bring balance to the way we approach women and youth empowerment means to accept that there have been mistakes and to embrace future challenges as synergies and possibilities. In the sport for development and peace sector, groundbreaking initiatives have been set in motion to empower women and girls, with recent ones such as the 'One Win Leads to Another' project by UN Women.