On her last visit to Barcelona, ??Aminata Touré, former Prime Minister of Senegal, delivered a powerful message about the future of the African continent. “Africa and the world need new leaders, women leaders,” she told this newspaper.
For Touré, the leadership of African women has more collective consciousness because they have experience in leading their families and communities. “And to lead her – she explained -, social vision is essential.”
Despite the significant challenges that still affect the progress of women in Africa, such as gender discrimination, sexual violence, poverty or early marriage, a perspective view of the continent allows us to see outbreaks of optimism in the advancement of their rights. .
Early childhood education is one of the areas where significant progress has been made in recent decades. According to the World Bank, the enrollment rate for girls in primary education in sub-Saharan Africa increased from 52% in 1990 to more than 80% today. And the latest report on education in the world by Unesco even points to a turn of the tables in countries such as South Africa, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Gambia or Namibia, where the enrollment rate of female students in primary education already exceeds that of male .
If in some fields the improvement is still insufficient –although the fertility ratio has dropped from 6.8 children for each African woman in 1970 to 4.7 today, the figure is still twice the world average– in others there are reasons for hope.
Political representation is the spearhead of optimism. In the last decade, the number of African women in ministerial posts has tripled and they already represent 25.7% of parliamentary seats, practically at the level of the world average.
The increase in female referents in decision-making positions will be key for the new generations in a growing Africa. With an average age of 19.7 years (Europe’s is 42.2 years) and unbridled population growth forecasts – according to the United Nations, the current African population of 1.3 billion inhabitants will have doubled by the year 2050 —, the continent is home to young and constantly evolving societies where female voices are heard louder every day. La Vanguardia has selected six young women from different countries who are an example of African dynamism and the still slow but constant progress of women.
All of them are called to lead the Africa of today and tomorrow.
