Women, Law, and Development Discussion and Reception: Africa in Focus

The George Washington University Law School hosts a discussion and reception to reflect on and celebrate the progress of women’s rights in Africa, featuring notable speakers like Ángeles Moreno Bau, the Ambassador of Spain to the US.

International Women’s Day in 2024 presents an opportune platform to pause, reflect, and celebrate the progress of women’s rights across the African continent.

This special event, consisting of a panel discussion followed by a reception and documentary screening will amplify good practices in advancing women’s legal empowerment in Africa in line with this year’s UN theme for International Women’s Day 2024, “Count Her In: Accelerating Gender Equality Through Economic Empowerment” and the African Union’s 2024 theme, “Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa.”

The event will feature discussions showcasing diverse perspectives from African countries to promote women’s legal rights in Africa. The panel will cover successful initiatives around:

• Creating an enabling environment for women’s access to their rights, notably education through reforming formal and informal legal norms that discriminate against women, including addressing the role of gender-responsive norms.
• Reforming institutions to make them effective, accountable and gender-responsive as front-line points of contact. Whereas Africa has made progress in progressive laws and policies and institutions to promote and protect women’s rights, more focus is required for effective implementation.
• Legally empowering women through actions which are important for sustaining the first two entry points. These include empowering women and girls with the tools to know, claim and exercise their rights and extending knowledge of women’s rights to men, boys and community power structures.

Confirmed speakers

• Rosa Celorio, Associate Dean of George Washington University Law School, International and Comparative Law
• Ambassador Hilda Suka-Mfaduze, Head of Mission, African Union Permanent Representative to the US
• Ambassador Mathilda Mukantabana, Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States
• Ángeles Moreno Bau, Ambassador of Spain to the United States
• Peter Hummelgaard, Minister of Justice Denmark
• Kehinde Ajayi, Gender Program Director, Center for Global Development
• Andrea Bertone, Director, Gender and Social Inclusion, FHI360
• Thoko Kadzamira, President, Malawi Washington Foundation

Moderated by Leila Hanafi, Professor (Adjunct), George Washington University Law School, International and Comparative Law; Founder of the North Africa Women ADALA Legal Network.