On Friday, the African Union’s Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security emphasized the need for women’s participation in all aspects of life, and emphasized the role of women in Africa.
In an exclusive interview with the Anadolu Agency (AA), Bineta Diop said, “African women have suffered in conflicts”, but also stressed that it is not just happening in Africa but in all parts of the world because “We have seen the crisis in Ukraine”, she said.
Diop emphasized that women are mainly the ones hard hit, but emphasized that “women’s resilience in Africa” is not published well enough.
“In Africa, women are resilient. In Africa, women are the backbone of society. In Africa, women make a huge contribution to our development,” she said, adding that her priority as a special envoy “is to give hope to women, that is to walk on the ground. in solidarity to tell them that Africa is with you. “
Diop’s role also includes “making their voices heard, giving them confidence, capacity, giving them support,” she said.
Referring to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Diop said, “what we are discussing here is that when it comes to the negotiating table, for example, there are no women.”
“It’s those who have the muscles, it’s those who have the weapons who have been called to the table. So why is that? We have to invite women,” she said, expressing the need to include women in such cases “because you know, women have the knowledge too. “
“They think that because we are silent, that we do not know. But they have expertise, and also the fact that they (women) are the ones in society, they are one who negotiates at the societal level,” she added.
By defining women as “soft diplomats”, Diop said, “We need to get women at the heart of the discussion, in the dialogue, and that’s happening here (Antalya Diplomacy Forum).”
Regarding a question about ongoing projects in her office at the African Union, she said that one is governance.
“We have created a platform for women on female leadership – the African female leader, a networking platform. Because we need women across the continent to meet,” she said.
The special envoy listed education as another project: “One of the big projects we do is to have a curriculum for young women and men at the university. Because this issue of equality is not just about women, it is a societal So you should need to educate men and women about the relationship between men and women. “
She also expressed admiration for Turkey’s first lady Emine Erdoğan for her efforts against Africa and African women. Diop said: “She promotes the cultural art of African women. Especially the artisanal work done by women, and I think this is a way to change the story of African women, to say that African women do a lot.”
Diop said she will participate in the panel “Strengthening Solidarity and Promoting Peace through Soft Power” at the forum on Saturday with the Turkish first lady, and said: “We will talk about soft diplomacy. We will see how the soft diplomacy that has been used in our history, how can we take it back. “
Diop quoted a term by the late President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, “Ubuntu”, and defined it as: “I exist because you exist so the connection is that if something happened to you it will affect me. So I think this whole thing the crisis between Ukraine and Russia, what they teach us we are in a world. If it affects them, it will affect the whole world. “
She also criticized the UN Security Council for “injustice” for not including the African continent.
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