Women in leadership should use their positions in society to advocate for the rights of fellow women by laying bare negative cultural and traditional norms, especially among underprivileged women. 

Principal Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs Aurelia Rono says it requires courage to dump the inhibitory norms since it is not easy for a woman to come out and speak out about their tribulations and advocate for the rights of fellow women because societies in Africa are still highly patriarchal.

Speaking during the “She Leads Africa Summit 2025,” Ms Rono said the event provides a platform to discuss where women have come from and what lessons they can learn from that journey. 

“It has not been easy for us, and I want to congratulate all of you because I know you lead, you represent an institution that is advocating for a girl child, for a woman in Africa. I congratulate you for doing that,” she principal secretary said

She said the forum is critical as it highlights the experiences she went through as a woman.

“I know if everyone of us is given an opportunity, there is that point in life when things were not favouring you. Some people were trying to stop you just because you are a girl or a woman,” the principal secretary observed.

According to Rono, advocating for women’s rights requires courage. She gave herself as an example as a woman who has gone through difficult moments and experiences in life to the point of almost giving up. When she visits schools to speak to girls, she say, she reminds them that it is possible rise above narrow cultural interests that inhibit women’s advancement.

“Going forward, your voices will be the ones to be heard in your respective countries. It depends on how you speak now,” she said.

The principal secretary challenged women to walk the talk saying: “It is what you speak and what you do that matters. Sometimes we speak but it is not exactly what we do. So as women, we need to encourage ourselves that even as we lead the rest to advocate for women rights, let us lead in speaking and also in action.”

Technical Expert of Lobby and Advocacy at Terre des Hommes Netherlands Linnet Awor observed that there is a need to ensure that girls and young women continue to lead with impact in all spheres of life, now and in the future.

She said that this can be achieved through collaborative advocacy and the “She Leads Africa Summit 2025” will strengthen feminist and youth-led movements, encouraging regional commitments to ensure that Girls and Young Women are engaged meaningfully in governance and development.

“By the end of the summit, participants will have secured tangible policy commitments from regional and continental institutions to embed Girls’ and Young Women’s leadership across key decision-making spaces. The summit will also strengthen intergenerational and cross-border feminist networks and produce a clear Pan-African roadmap for a just, inclusive, and gender-equal post-2030 agenda,” said Awor.

Terres des hommes Netherlands, Country Director-Kenya Magdalane Muoki said that the “She Leads…”is a global programme being implemented in a number of countries in Africa, Kenya being one of them.

Muoki pointed out that the programme is aimed at amplifying the voices of girls and young women helping them to take part in all decision-making processes at all levels be it community, national and even internationally.

“My message to girls and young women is that they have all it takes to take up the space, be where decisions are being made and take the lead in advocating for their rights. I also call upon the leaders, the activists, the policymakers to help us sustain the great strides we have made in this programme,” she said.

Africa, with its vibrant youth, including over 116 million under 35 in East Africa alone, is a continent of immense potential. Yet, the leadership of young people, especially Girls and Young Women (GYW), remains undervalued. Girls and Young Women are actively addressing global issues such as climate change, digital inequality, gender-based violence and economic injustice, but are often excluded from decision-making. Now is the time to change this, argues Muoki

As Africa nears the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, the need to protect progress and ensure Girls and Young Women are sufficiently integrated in decision-making processes has never been more urgent.

This historic event, organised by the Horn of Africa Youth Network (HoAYN) and Terre des Hommes Netherlands in collaboration with Pan African She Leads Consortium, Plan International AULO, Defence for Children – ECPAT Netherlands (DCI-ECPAT), FEMNET and GIMAC, marks the first-ever regional civil society-led summit convened for and by GYW across the continent.

Hosted in the Eastern Africa region, the Summit is both a powerful culmination of the five-year She Leads programme (2021-2025) and a bold step forward in shaping policies that place Girls and Young Women at the centre of decision-making.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Joseph Ng’ang’a