DAILY GRAPHIC, Saturday, October 13, 2012, Pg. Queens from Africa form Cultural Leaders Network

Story: Mary Ankrah
AFRICAN QUEENS are in Ghana for a brainstorming meeting to develop structures and approaches for the formation of an African Women Cultural Leaders Network (AWCLN).

The meeting which started on Thursday will end on Monday, October 14, 2012, and it has attracted about 15 queens from across Africa including Kenya, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, South Sudan, North Africa and Ghana among other countries.

The initiative for the establishment of AWCLN came about during a Global Power Women Network Africa meeting held in Harare, Zimbabwe in May this year. 

The outcome document at the end of that meeting called for the creation of a women’s cultural leaders union, which would be a forum to work towards the improvement of the lives of women and children in Africa.
 
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the brainstorming meeting in Accra yesterday, the wife of the Asantehene, Lady Julia Osei Tutu, observed that queens were agents of change and their roles in society could help combat dangerous disease such as HIV/AIDS, and harmful traditional practices including early and forced marriage as well as female genital mutilation.

“We are African role models that can inspire and unite our people to overcome development challenges for the benefit of all”, she said.

In that direction, Lady Osei Tutu, urged African queens to  focus on harnessing the power of culture and be inspired by the works of past great African kings, queens and great leaders so they could promote positive and life-changing progress within their communities.

That, she said was because most African royal women over the centuries had played vital roles in society in the area of politics and  military, as well as being cultural custodians in promoting, preserving, and passing their culture  to the next generation.

“We must be brave and fearless in auditing traditional practices. We must be brave and fearless when proposing new solutions and pointing out where initiatives have failed, she stated.

In her remarks, the African Union (AU) Social Affairs Commissioner, Mrs Bience Gawanas, noted that the ultimate goal of the network was to engage in concrete socio-cultural activities at national, regional and continental levels to impact positively on the lives of women and children and also improve on their livelihoods.

 “We must do all of these as part of our on-going efforts to strengthen the rebirth of our beloved continent at the political, social, economic and cultural levels”, she urged the queens.
 
She assured that the AU was ready to provide all the necessary support for the initiative as its mandate was closely linked to that of the Department of Social Affairs in the areas of Culture and Health which included reducing mother and child mortality, combating HIV and AIDS and reducing poverty.

In history, African royal women had contributed immensely to building their empires and nations. Notable of these women were Yaa Asantewaa the Queen of Ejisu in Ghana who was considered to be a great female military leader, Queen Amina of Zaria in present day Nigeria and Queen Nzingha of Ndongo (now Angola).