Initiative to Empower and Support African Women Leaders launches in Nairobi

By Monica MUEMA

A groundbreaking initiative designed to provide a sustainable support system for women across the African continent as they navigate their professional journeys and strive for success in the workplace has launched in Kenya.

Ignite Her 4 Africa is a sisterhood of rising African women leaders across all industries dedicated to igniting, empowering, lifting, collaborating, and transforming the African continent.

The initiative’s mission is to transcend borders, cultures, and backgrounds to create a better Africa through unity and the empowerment of women.

“African women often juggle multiple roles, such as wife, mother, daughter, and caretaker, while facing significant challenges in health, economic well-being, and cultural and gender stereotyping.

The demanding work-life balance in a fast-paced economy poses a formidable challenge, but Ignite Her 4 Africa is here to make a difference by helping women strike a balance,” explained Ignite Her 4 Africa Founder Esther Wangui.

Kenya’s first Female Attorney General(AG), Dorcas Oduor, said during the initiative’s launch in Nairobi that the time has come for women to start working together to lift each other as she reiterated her plans to reform the country’s criminal justice sector to alleviate the suffering of women.

“We are going to come up with an initiative to just re-look at the criminal justice sector because, in the whole chain, it is women who suffer. When we don’t have legal representation, mostly the men commit offences, but it is their wives who suffer at home,” said the AG.

Among critical reforms under the pipeline include decriminalizing petty offences, giving young people a second chance, introducing alternatives to prosecution, that is, diversion, and also options to incarceration, where open prisons will allow people to go about their duties while they are also serving their prison sentences and will also result in review of the whole bail regime.

“We are calling for reforms for everybody because if we reform the criminal justice sector, the woman improves because we are the ones who carry the society,” Explained the AG.

She added, “You can’t do things alone and you cannot succeed alone. You must accept to be assisted where you have a gap because nobody has everything.”

The Law Society of Kenya, President Faith Odhiambo reiterated the urgent need for reforms in the criminal justice sector, citing a rise in femicides in sports, especially athletics, due to a lack of knowledge of women’s rights and legal protection and a lack of a place of minors in Kenyan prisons.

“There is still more work for women in the different sectors. As we ignite, let us take the opportunity to support and raise other women, push for greater transformation, and ensure we make a huge difference,” said Odhiambo.

The Australian High Commissioner to Kenya, Jenny Da Rin affirmed that after four decades, the world is beginning to witness the rise of hard-working, confident, qualified, ethical, professional and intellectual women supporting each other.

The President’s Advisor on Women’s Rights, Hon. Harriette Chiggai, affirmed the urgent need for women to begin creating safe spaces at home and workplaces to ease growing hate within the society, saying her office is running a ‘Safe Home, Safe Spaces’ campaign to bring back the warmth within the society.

The Ignite Her 4 Africa initiative is built on four pillars: Women Industry Circles of Influence – Africa, Celebrating Rising Women Leaders in Africa, Ignite Her for Africa, and Inspiring the Next Generation.

These pillars aim to unite accomplished women, recognize and honour remarkable African women leaders, provide training sessions, podcasts, and networking events, and bridge the gap between aspiration and achievement through mentorship programs for young girls and women.

“Ignite Her 4 Africa provides a platform for women leaders to share their stories, offering a sisterhood where women can be authentic and vulnerable, and addressing the challenge of building a trustworthy and reliable network across African borders to serve as a sustainable support system for professional women,” said Ignite her 4 Africa co-Founder, Wangui Ngechu.