Women & Youth Empowerment

Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but it is also a prerequisite for and an indication of an inclusive, peaceful, just, prosperous and sustainable world. The last three decades have witnessed tangible advances towards gender equality, including through landmark agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment as well as gender-relevant indicators in other SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The domestication of these agreements has translated into some progress towards achieving gender equality in Africa, including:

• Significant reductions in maternal mortality;

• Increased advocacy on the elimination of violence against women; and

• Legislative, policy and programmatic efforts to fulfill women’s right to education, and constitutional and legal right to inherit.