FAWE Africa’s immediate former Executive Director Ms. Hendrina Chalwe Doroba was awarded the prestigious Women Pioneer Award during the 33rd GIMAC Summit. With this award, Ms. Doroba joins a list of Gender Equality Champions in Africa among them: H.E Dlamini Zuma,former AUC Chairperson (2012-2017), Fébé Potgieter-Gqubule former Deputy Chief of Staff AUC (2015) current AU goodwill Ambassador of ending Child Marriage Mrs. Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, and the Chairperson of the Africa Commission on People and Human Rights Mrs. Soyata Maiga among others whose outstanding contributions to the women’s empowerment and African women’s rights and development have in the past decade been acknowledged through the award.

The award was presented on 3 February 2019 during the 33rd Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) Pre AU summit Consultative forum on Gender Mainstreaming in Africa. Whilst accepting the award during the 33rd GIMAC luncheon held at UNECA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ms Doroba applauded the continental leadership efforts in increasing women’s and girls’ access to education.

“Over the last decades, girls have comprised the largest proportion that have been unable to access education and hereby forming the largest proportion of the continent. This award is meaningful to me, not only because it recognizes my work at FAWE but because it shows increased recognition of the importance of promoting girls and women education in Africa something,” said an elated Ms. Doroba.

Ms Doroba who has since joined the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) to head the Education, Youth and, Human Capital department dedicated the award to the youth and institutions championing gender equality in Africa.

“I dedicate this award to my family, the youth of Africa, my former colleagues at FAWE, to GIMAC and to all people and institutions spearheading Gender Equality in Education in Africa,” she said.

Prior to her transition to the AfDB, Ms. Doroba served as FAWE Africa’s Programme Officer (2007-2009) rising through the ranks to Head of Programmes (2009-2013) and ultimately the Executive Director FAWE Africa from 2013-2018.

She also served as GIMAC Chairperson from 2017-2018 with her greatest achievements being securing GIMAC’s observer status at the AU ECOSOC and facilitating a Memorandum of Understanding between the GIMAC civil society movement and African Union Anticorruption Advisory Board aimed at eradicating corrupt practices that limit women access to social economic & political rights in the continent.

Other women who received the award at the forum include H.E Aminata Tall, Chair of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, Senega; Ms Bente Angell-Hanson, Former Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway; and Ms Liza Kimbo, Former Executive Director of IPAS.