Conversations With Powerful African Women Leaders

Conversations With Powerful African Women Leaders
by Dr. Sharon T. Freeman (Paperback)
Learn from and be inspired by the strategies of 11 powerful African Women Leaders who are helping to transform Africa.
AASBEA, January 2003
ISBN: 0-9703463-3-6

$19.99 + S&H $5.01

"Money is a verb...it does things, it is not just something to have ...it must build houses, schools, hospitals...and it must feed the people."
Luisa Diogo, Minister of Finance, Mozambique.

"Botswana is fighting for its very survival...it's a battle to the death and I can assure you it's not going to be the death of Botswana, it's going to be the death of AIDS in Botswana."
Joy Phumaphi, Minister of Health, Botswana.

"Many people with noble hearts and vision are involved in politics, like my husband, ...the more women who are involved in politics, the better the world would be."
Dr. Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, First Lady, Cote d'Ivoire.

"A review of the life and history of my country, Egypt, provides evidence of the possibility of coming together between all civilization and cultures and possibilities for joint action."
Fayza Aboulnaga, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Egypt.

"Where I come from there is an expectation that women should be perfect wives...it is understood that if they wish to pursue careers, that they have to earn this 'privilege' ...by working double time to reassure their husbands that the 'privilege' of pursuing a career and contributing to the well-being of the family if not being abused."
Aisha Ismail, Minister of Women and Youth, Nigeria.

"I had a premonition that once Nelson Mandela's term was up in 1999 the euphoria associated with him would vanish and South Africa would revert back to being just another Africa country."
Sheila Sisulu, South African Ambassador to the USA.

"My practice as a medical doctor prepared me to be a policymaker because as a doctor, you are in touch with the patient from the inside out...I went into politics with the knowledge of people's hearts, fears, and the conditions under which they were living."
Dr. Speciosa Wandira Kazibe, Vice President, Uganda.

Africa's 10 Most Powerful Women

In the last few years, we have witnessed African women step out of the shadows of their male counterparts and take a more prominent role in shaping their societies. ClickAfrique looks at the ten most powerful women on the continent...

In a continent known for its culture of male dominance, African woman have begun to take up more leadership and inspire not just women in their own country but around the world. We have listed the ten most powerful women in Africa below. Luisa Diogo has had a good year in 2007 which was capped off with being awarded the 2008 Global Women's Leadership Award.


1. Luisa Diogo Prime Minister, Mozambique (above)
Since she replaced Pascoal Mocumbi as the prime minister of Mozambique in 2004, Luisa Diogo’s stock has risen internationally. She made her mark as an anti-poverty and health advocate, waging a battle to stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic blighting her country, where 16% of its 20 million citizens have contracted the disease, costing the nation 1% of its GDP every year. She was recently awarded the 2008 Global Women's Leadership Award.
2. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf President, Liberia
Harvard educated Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was just beaten to the top of the list of Africa’s most powerful women as her cool leadership of poverty stricken Liberia continues to garner the admiration of people around the world. She continues to rebuild the country’s fragile economy; Liberia has one of the fastest growing economies on the continent, fight corruption and demand transparency in contracts.
3. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Deputy President, South Africa
The first woman to hold the position of Deputy President and the highest ranking woman in the history of South Africa, Mlambo-Ngcuka courted controversy in 2005 when she said that South Africa could learn about the land reforms from Zimbabwe. Her position in South Africa’s political elite recently took a dent when she failed to be elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee.
4. Shirley Lue Arnold Chairwoman of Telkom, South Africa
Arnold heads one of the ten largest companies in Africa and one of the largest in the world. Born in Durban, South Africa and raised in Swaziland, the much traveled Arnold is a member of the Chairpersons Forum, Gordon Institute of Business, and also a member of the Independent Directors Initiative and the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa.
5. Maria Ramos CEO of Transnet, South Africa
Maria Ramos took up the position of Transnet chief executive in January 2004. One of the most sought-after financial gurus in the world, She was South Africa's Businesswoman of the Year in 2001, while director-general of the National Treasury. Together with Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, Ramos was credited locally and globally with nursing the South African economy back to health, reducing borrowings and instilling fiscal discipline.
6. Turai Yar'Adua First Lady, Nigeria
Wife of the current president of Nigeria, Umaru Yar’Adua, Turai is the Chairperson of the African First Ladies Peace Mission and a vocal advocate of reducing the high maternal and infant mortality on the continent. She is also reported to have a more hands on approach in government affairs than her predecessors.
7. Monhla Hlahla Chairwoman of Aiports Company of South Africa, South Africa
Hlahla heads the company that oversees the management of 10 South African airports (3 international airports and 7 local). The South African Businesswoman of the year in 2005, Hlahla is now charged to get all the airports under her care battle ready for the huge number of football fans that are to descend South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
8. Wendy Luhabe Chairwoman of Industrial Development Corporation, South Africa
A highly respected businesswoman in South Africa and Chacellor of the University of Johannesburg, Luhabe was also involved in the establishment of Wiphold, currently worth about R2 billion ($300 million), to revolutionise the participation of women in the economy, and remains by far the most inspiring contribution to South Africa’s young democracy.
9. Cecilia Ibru CEO of Oceanic Bank, Nigeria
Head of one of the largest banks in Africa, Celia Ibru is well respected by peers in the Nigerian financial sector. Under her stewardship the bank was twice awarded the Nigerian Bank of the Year in 2006 and 2007.
10. Joyce Mujuru Vice President, Zimbabwe
One of the two Vice Presidents in the beleaguered government of Robert Mugabe. Joyce to married to former army chief and Zimababwe’s “king maker”, Solomon Mujuru. Together they are the most powerful couple in Zimbabwe and Mrs. Mujuru is seen as a potential president of the southern African country, even though she has often denied having presidential ambitions.

Wangari Maathai on AIDS:

Wangari Maathai on AIDS
“No one can underestimate the challenge that the tragedy of HIV/AIDS puts before all countries. Nowhere has the devastation been greater than in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods to alleviate the suffering and, hopefully, find a cure require our full commitment. For too long, discussing HIV/AIDS in our communities has been taboo. This must end. We must encourage free and full public debate on the threat. We must be frank about how the HIV virus spreads through unprotected sex or intravenous drug use, and how poverty and inequality between women and men are the major driving forces of the pandemic in Africa. We must also increase access to information, care and treatment. In this decisive and difficult struggle in Africa we need the critical encouragement, support and cooperation from the rest of world so that we win the battle.”

Position Paper: The Challenge of AIDS in Africa

December 12, 2004

Related Articles:

Wangari Maathai on KQED

By Michael Krasny

KQED, March 2, 2005

Interview with Wangari Maathai

By Jeffrey Brown

Newshour with Jim Lehrer, PBS, January 25, 2005