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Africa's Women's Day

Africa's Women's Day is observed across the continent every year on 31 July, and sits on the African Union calendar as a day set aside to recognise what African women's collective action achieved in the struggle against colonialism and apartheid. It honours that history, and it recognises the work that continues, as women across Africa keep advancing the social and economic position of women on the continent.

The day also marks the anniversary of the Pan-African Women's Organization, the African Union's specialised agency for gender equality and women's empowerment.

Where the day began

Africa's Women's Day was proclaimed at the first conference of the Pan-African Women's Organization, held in July 1962 in Dar es Salaam, then Tanganyika and today part of Tanzania. Delegates at that conference agreed the day should be marked every year, and it has carried that mandate ever since.

More than six decades later, the day remains an occasion at national, continental and global level to reflect on what African women have contributed to a shared Pan-African identity. United by common values and a common vision, African women are central to Africa's inclusive growth and to the African Union's ambition of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent.

The Pan-African Women's Organization

PAWO represents women across the African continent and is present in all 55 African Union member states, supported by five regional offices.

Its work centres on securing the effective participation of African women in socio-economic and cultural development, advancing women's representation in decision-making, and pressing for the removal of every form of gender-based discrimination.

The organisation has been hosted by four countries over its history: Mali from 1962 to 1968, Algeria from 1968 to 1986, and Angola from 1986 to 2008. Since 2008 its permanent home has been Pretoria, South Africa.

About Africa's Women's Day Awareness

Africa's Women's Day has existed for over sixty years, yet it remains one of the least known dates on the African Union calendar. Closing that gap is why this initiative exists.

Africa's Women's Day Awareness was founded in 2021 by Joy Wanjiru Zenz under Africa Women in Trade, with Abigail Adaeze Chinonyerem Onii Egbunine as Program Manager and Creative Director. Six consecutive editions have been delivered since then, reaching 2,111 individuals across Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean, with more than half returning for two editions or more.

Each edition takes a theme and spends the month of July spotlighting African women whose work sits at its centre, closing with a free virtual gathering on 31 July. Past editions have honoured female presidents and prime ministers, the unsung heroines of Africa, female founders and chief executives, women leading on climate, women of African descent across the diaspora, and most recently the women securing Africa's water future.

The platform has welcomed some of the continent's most significant voices, among them H.E. Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, first female Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, H.E. Catherine Samba-Panza, former Head of State of the Central African Republic, and H.E. Eunice Iipinge, President of PAWO.

What we set out to do

• Raise awareness of Africa's Women's Day and what it commemorates.

• Spotlight African women whose leadership deserves to be seen, named and celebrated.

• Connect each year's programming to continental frameworks, particularly African Union Agenda 2063.

• Create space for storytelling, recognition and collective action across Africa and its diaspora.