Every July 31, Pan-African Women’s Day (PAWD), marking the founding of the Pan-African Women’s Organization (PAWO) in 1962, works to remind women across the diaspora of the need for global solidarity to achieve liberation in the ongoing fight against colonialism.
To celebrate the holiday and reflect on the history, present and future of African women’s steadfast resilience toward justice, self-determination and prosperity, the All-African Women’s Revolutionary Union (AAWRU) and the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (AAPRP) hosted a webinar on July 27 featuring a panel of activists and leaders from across the diaspora.
“Women must not be on the sidelines. In this struggle, they should be at the forefront,” said Mariatou Adamou, the coordinator of Women Committed to the Safeguarding of the Country (FESPA) in Niger. “When women get involved in a struggle, success is guaranteed, and this fight is not for ourselves. It is for our children and grandchildren.”
The 2025 theme, “Advancing Social and Economic Justice for African Women Reparations,” aligns with the African Union’s 2025 mission to seek justice for people of African descent through reparations, which reminds communities across the diaspora of the work needed to resist the intentional disenfranchisement of African women.
“The theme is grounded in the urgent need to confront the persistent legacies of colonialism, slavery and apartheid that have systematically devalued and depossessed African women and communities,” the African Union Women, Gender and Youth Directorate wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Amplifying the Realities of African Women
The Banat Power Initiative (BPI) is a community-driven, South Sudanese-based organization that promotes the empowerment of women by taking steps toward a future where women and girls are free to be influential and courageous in achieving their life goals.
Emma Kwaje, BPI’s founder, continues the organization’s mission of advocating for meaningful change by addressing the unique experiences of women across the diaspora, speaking at the PAWD webinar about the struggles faced by South Sudanese women. The world’s youngest nation, South Sudan has been subject to increased violence due to political instability.
“All of us, we must recognize the shared struggles of women across borders,” Kawje said to the audience. “Their voices must be amplified in our collective fight for equality as they paved the way for future generations. For us to achieve a lasting change, we propose a very just and revolutionary pan-Africanist solution that prioritizes women’s rights.”
According to a report from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, 1,607 civilians were victims of violence between January and March 2025– the most significant number in three months since 2020, and an 86% increase since October 2024. Per the report, women and girls were disproportionately affected by conflict-related sexual violence and gender-based violence, comprising 98% of documented victims.
Women in South Sudan also face inequality in the education sector, as the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported in a South Sudan country profile, indicating the African nation has a literacy rate of 34.5% – one of the lowest in the world– while the female literacy rate in the young country is 28.9%. In comparison, the male literacy rate is 40.3%, a discrepancy that could be attributed to the rate of early and forced marriages.
“That is why we felt it is very important for us to empower the girls, because there are so many issues that happen because of child marriages, because girls are seen as money,” Kwaje said. “These are not just statistics. They represent the realities of countless women who strive for a better future.”
During the PAWD webinar, Ashlyn Ajiambo, a member of the Communist Party Marxist– Kenya (CPM-K) and the Revolutionary Women’s League, brought the audience’s attention to some of the issues and inequalities faced by Kenyan women.
“Let every oppressed woman know that your place is not behind the man, but at the frontlines of history,” Ajiambo said. “Until the oppressed woman is free, none of us are free. Until the Kenyan woman is free, the nation is enslaved.”
In Kenya, femicide has increased alarmingly. According to a report by the Silencing Women Project, 170 cases of femicide were documented in Kenya in 2024, which was double the annual average reported between 2016 and 2023.
Ajiambo believes global solidarity, efficient activist mobilization and an emphasis on socialism are crucial in combating the inequalities faced by women not only in Africa, but across the globe. She also believes that uniting working-class men and women in a fight against capitalism will help to effectively eradicate gender inequality worldwide.
“The liberation of women is the liberation of the working class, and pan-Africanism is socialism, or it’s nothing,” Ajiambo said. “We draw inspiration from revolutionary women’s organizations in history, who demonstrated that women’s liberation requires both political struggle and collective action.”
Kwaje believes the steps toward women’s liberation include fostering solidarity between all nations to further advocacy for policies that support grassroots movement and ensure women have equal opportunities to educational and economic resources.
“Let us remember that women are indeed the backbone of our struggle, and in every corner of Africa where there is resistance to oppression, there are women who are leading the chance,” Kwaje said. “So, let us honor their contributions, let us amplify their voices and commit ourselves to the work ahead.”
