African women conference opens in London

•Joyce Banda, Diamini-Zuma, others in attendance

A MAJOR conference aimed at encouraging more women to participate and excel in all aspects of government and politics in Africa began in London Tuesday. Some of the most influential figures from across the African political and government are in attendance.

Key-note speakers at the two-day inaugural Women In Government and Politics Conference (WIGP), holding at the House of Commons in Westminster, include Malawi’s President Joyce Banda, Africa Union (AU) Commission Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma and Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. She is the first woman to hold the position in Nigeria and to head a country delegation at the yearly Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) conference. She was also the country’s first female Minister of Transportation.

A former President of Ghana, John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, and Dr. Nic Cheeseman, Director of African Studies Centre, University of Oxford, as well as Diane Abbott, the first black woman ever elected to the British Parliament will also speak.

The 2013 WIGP, with the theme, “Increasing the Numbers: Access and Progress,” and is being supported by the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. More than 50 invited delegates from several African countries will debate what action should be taken to equip women with necessary tools to participate successfully in all aspects of politics and governance- essential to building and sustaining genuine democracy across the continent for future generations.

The WIGP is unique in attracting many senior names together to specifically discuss the role of women in African government, drawn from politics, the civil service, mainstream advocacy, plus international experts, including leading academics.

The conference’s aim is to put forward a manifesto outlining how women can contribute at all levels to decision making and implementation of government policy which often directly affects them.
Winihin Jemide, founder of the Winihin Jemide Series and the WIGP conference organiser, said: “The Women in Government and Politics conference will boldly explore  issues  and  concepts  surrounding women’s  increased  involvement in  Africa’s  political  arena with consideration given to succession planning and the next generation. This will be an annual conference aimed at raising the global profile of the growing role women play in the heart of African public life.”

The Winihin Jemide Series is an umbrella organisation that works to increase awareness in several diverse spheres and causes for which its founder has a passion. Through various programmes, events and platforms, it serves to support and articulate conversations and initiatives that enable nation building, community development and transformative thinking. These events are as diverse as Youth Internship Africa, WIGP Conference, The Garden Show and This African Woman.

Many sub-Saharan countries had not invested in women and most of the women who have gained relevance in society have done so mostly on their own. Few governments in Africa have been helpful in creating the structures required to guarantee that they excel. A new breed of men required to open these doors.

According to statistics provided by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality:

• Only about 21 per cent of national parliamentarians in Africa were female as of 1 July 2013, a slow increase from 11.6 per cent in 1995.
•  As of June 2013, eight women served as Head of State and 13 served as Head of Government across the world. In Africa only two women have risen to the position of President.
•  Rwanda is the exception. It has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide. Women there have won 56.3 per cent of seats in the lower house.
• Wide variations remain in the average percentages of women parliamentarians in each region, across single, and lower and upper houses. Sub-Saharan Africa has achieved 20.9 per cent female parliamentary participation.
•  Globally, women’s representation in local governments has made a difference. Research on panchayats (local councils) in India discovered that the number of drinking water projects in areas with female-led councils was 62 per cent higher than in those with male-led councils. In Norway, a direct causal relationship between the presence of women in municipal councils and childcare coverage was more.
• Women in politics do not correlate with lower levels of corruption, as is often assumed. Rather, democratic and transparent politics is correlated with low levels of corruption, and the two create an enabling environment for more women to participate.