The month of March is Women’s History Month. Yesterday was International Women’s day and women in all spheres of life were celebrated. As we continue in our usual tradition of Throwback Thursday, we want to stop and consider some of Africa’s most prominent women who have broken ceilings and changed the status quo. They have made history with how they have shaped the world. We throw the spotlight on 5 of them, see below:
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia)
Nobel Peace Prize winner and Africa’s first woman president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf gained international recognition as a formidable politician, activist, and economist. She was born in Liberia and studied at Harvard University, later becoming the first democratically elected female head of state of Liberia. As a global leader, Sirleaf has worked to promote peace and social and economic development across the African region.
Wangari Maathai (Kenya)
Born in Kenya, Maathai was an environmental political activist, a 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, author of four books, and the founder of the Green Belt Movement. Alongside her many accomplishments, Maathai was the chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and a professor after she became the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. Her list of accomplishments doesn’t stop there. Most known for her outstanding contributions as an activist for democracy and human rights and educator, Maathai truly had Kenya and her fellow African people in mind – and in her heart – as she built a legacy that would eventually go on to make her one of Africa’s most internationally recognized women.
Yaa Asantewaa (Ghana)
Asantewaa was known as “Queen mother of Ejisu” or modern-day Ghana. An inspirational and historically relevant female figure, she is recognized for playing a large role in “confronting British colonial rule” during her period in the early 1900s.
Joyce Banda (Malawi)
Winner of Forbes’ “Most powerful woman in Africa” and named the 40th most powerful woman in the world, Joyce Banda is the first female to be elected president in Malawi. As the founder of the National Association of Business Women, Young Women Leaders Network, and the Hunger Project, Banda has fought for human rights and education across Malawi.
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Nigeria)
Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, MON, also known as Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti, was a Nigerian educator, political campaigner, suffragist, and women’s rights activist. Fumilayo Ransome Kuti was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, and was the first female student to attend the Abeokuta Grammar School.