By Benjamin A. Commey
Accra, Dec. 31, GNA – Dr Charity Binka, the Chairperson of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) Ghana, has urged African governments and institutions to deliberately place women at the centre of the continent’s governance and development agenda, noting that women’s leadership was no more optional.
She explained that the continent’s development ambitions could not be realised without fully recognising and empowering women.
“This is not just a gap we are talking about, but a contradiction between our past and our present, between Africa’s leadership capability and the systems we have built,” she said.
Dr. Binka made the call at the virtual launch of the 2025 Policy Brief and Leadership Report by the Africa Future Leadership Institute of Global Affairs (AFLIGA), on Tuesday.
The report strongly advocates for African-centred, inclusive governance and the deliberate positioning of women at the heart of the continent’s leadership agenda.
She described the report as a reminder that African women had historically led societies long before formal political structures, exercising authority through resistance, negotiation, economic organisation and community cohesion.
She cited figures such as Yaa Asantewaa and the continent’s market women as examples of leadership that continued to shape African economies and societies, often without recognition.
Dr Binka said the report challenges the idea that Africa lacked solutions, arguing instead that the continent had failed to value its own indigenous knowledge systems.
Anchored in African philosophies such as “Sankofa” and “Ubuntu,” the policy brief, she said, called for a return to indigenous leadership models as frameworks for ethical governance, peace and people-centred development.
“When women lead, economies grow, communities stabilise and peace lasts. Governance becomes more ethical and development more human-centred,” she noted.
A key feature of the report, Dr Binka explained, was its framing of men as strategic partners rather than bystanders in advancing women’s leadership.
Linking this to the emerging continental discourse on positive masculinity, she said, “Real African strength uplifts women; it does not silence or compete with them.”
She outlined policy recommendations including zero tolerance for violence against women and girls, accountability for state and non-state actors, increased structural support for women’s leadership, and the active engagement of men and boys as allies.
She urged men to open doors, challenge harmful norms and see gender equity as “sound economic policy, not emotional politics.”
Dr Binka also urged stakeholders to ensure the report do not “sit on a shelf” but was used to drive accountability, policy reform and transformative leadership.
“Africa cannot rise without women,” she emphasised.
Dr. Afisah Zakariah, the Chief Director, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, recognised the gains made in women’s leadership, pointing to key milestones such as the appointment of women to positions of Vice President and Chief Justice.
Despite these advances, she observed that women’s representation in politics remained a significant challenge, largely because financial constraints continue to hinder their participation in parliamentary elections.
Dr Zakariah emphasised that women should assume leadership roles based on merit and competence, not tokenism.
She reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to partnering with AFLIGA to promote gender parity in accordance with the Affirmative Action Act.
Professor Ruby Magosvongwe, Board Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Media Commission, said the AFLIGA Thought Leadership Series responded to critical leadership gaps in inclusivity and accountability across the continent.
She stressed that leadership must be “planned, intentional and values-driven,” warning that women remained underrepresented despite their significant contributions to development.
Dr Emmanuel Dei-Tumi, the Executive Director of AFLIGA, said the Thought Leadership Series was created to bridge the gap between ideas and implementation, noting that “policy failures often begin as thinking failures.”
He explained that the 2025 edition focused on reclaiming and reimagining indigenous African leadership to advance inclusive governance in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade