Young women issues, a priority for Africa’s future

Young women across the African continent who attended the consultation meeting on African Union Gender Policy and Gender strategy validation strongly called for serious consideration of all young women’s rights as priorities in the AU Gender strategy 2018-2027.

The young women in a letter to the Africa Union Director for Women, Gender and Development, Mahawa Kaba Wheeler highlighted the negative impact of persistent   conservative patriarchal and heteronormative values on women’s rights.

“Without women’s freedom of bodily autonomy and integrity on all matters relating to their lives, other rights are difficult to realise. We thus call for this strategy to be a step in addressing these and ensure transformative change”, reads part of the letter.

During the opening of the two day meeting in Addis Ababa, Wheeler pointed out the importance of youth issues. She said, “Young people’s issues can no longer be ignored”. Click here to read the letter