African women today have fought their way up the ladder of greatness, there are great people in the world, but not all of them are influential. Africa is populated with women who have different talents and abilities. Some years ago, an ideology that said: “a woman’s place is in the kitchen,” and these women were limited and sometimes restricted on what job to take or not. But today, the African woman is bold to chase her dream. She is educated and industrious as long as she is determined to achieve greatness in a specific area, and she contributes immensely towards the development of her society. These women were able to bridge the gender gap that had so eaten Africa up. It was earlier believed that women were weak, and they were denied the opportunity to explore and bring their quota to the family table and that of society. We have women who have built their careers in fields like Engineering, Medicine, Business, Politics, Sport, Science, Education, Entertainment, etc.
Background Stories Of Some Influential African Women In No Particular Order
- Ridal Al Tubuly; A Peace Campaigner in Libya.
She is a university professor with a postgraduate degree in International Human Rights Law. She is an African woman who advocates for gender equality. Through her organization, she encouraged women to be involved in the process of finding a solution to the wars in Libya. In 2018 she reported that women are being neglected and are not involved in high-level UN meetings that have to do with the future of Libya. - Judith Bakirya: A Ugandan Farmer.
She was raised on a farm in Uganda but later got a scholarship to study in an all-girls boarding school. Then she furthered her education and got a master’s degree from the UK. Judith worked as an employee for some time, and she was able to raise some money, which she later used to build an organic fruit farm. She named her farm Busaino Fruits & Herbs. She received a national agricultural award, which empowered her. Then she used this platform to draw attention to women’s rights issues such as the lack of land ownership, domestic violence, and lack of education. - Rana el Kaliouby: An Egyptian, Artificial Intelligence Pioneer.
Rana is a Ph.D. holder from Cambridge University and also has a post-doctorate degree from MIT. She owns a company called Affectiva and has been able to develop software that can understand emotions while focused on human facial expression through a camera. Rana is one of the first people to do artificial emotional intelligence in Egypt. This technological advancement from Affectiva can also be installed in vehicles to monitor a driver’s activity. Rana is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader who is passionate about gender equality in technology. - Salwa Eid Naser: A Nigerian/Bahrain, Athlete.
Salwa was born in Anambra State, Nigeria. But she later moved to Bahrain at the age of 14 while she was looking for opportunities to advance her athletic career, an effort that paid off for her. Today she represents the Gulf State Internationally, and she won the 400 meters final at Doha, this emerging as a winner over the older athletes. - Benedicte Mundele: A Fresh Food Entrepreneur from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Benedicte is 24years old, and she took advantage of the abundant raw food products, which range from potato to passionfruits. She tries to elevate poverty with this available food produce. - Nanjira Sambuli: A Kenyan, Digital Equality Expert.
Nanjira sooth solutions to ensure that everyone has access to the web no matter their gender and location, which may be a barrier to internet enablement. She led the World Wide Web Foundation in Kenya in a bid to increase digital equality. - Farida Osman: An Egyptian, Swimmer
Farida is popularly referred to as the golden fish. She became the first woman in Egypt to win a bronze medal for a 50-meter butterfly during the FINA World Aquatic Championship. This year she won another bronze medal. She is encouraging young Africans to engage in swimming. Farida, in preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, has begun training in other to fulfill her ambitions to win another medal. - Julie Makani: A Tanzania, Scientist, and Doctor
Julie is from Tanzania, one of the countries in the world with the highest rate of people born with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) for every year. Julie dedicated the last two decades researching treatment for SCD. She works hard to improve health policies so that people across Africa can get access to vital diagnostic tests and medications. - Raja Meziane: An Algeria, Singer.
Raja’s anti-government songs tackle social injustice; her political music video gained over 35 million views on YouTube. However, she has been sent on exile in Algeria due to alleged corruption and inequality. - Dr. Gada Kadoda: A Sudan Engineer.
Gada was named Unicef Innovator. She is the brain behind Sudan’s first lab innovation. And she is the founder of the Sudanese knowledge Society that provides the platform where young researchers can converse freely with scientists and scholars from within and outside the country. Dr. Gada helps and trains women in the community as community engineers who can generate electricity using solar power.
Conclusion
These are only but a few of today’s African Women who have swept the ideology that limited them beneath the carpet and has chosen influence over it. Today the world recognizes those who have done exceptionally well for themselves and the society at large. Their stories of how they made it and conquered grounds have become factors of motivation to the younger generation of African women, thereby building a mindset that. Undoubtedly, greatness is possible regardless of your gender, background, or level of segregation as long as one is determined.
