A father asks his daughter: Study? Why should you study? I have sons aplenty who can study Girl, why should you study? The daughter tells her father: Since you ask, here’s why I must study. Because I am a girl, I must study. Long denied this right, I must study For my dreams to take flight, I must study Knowledge brings new light, so I must study For the battles I must fight, I must study Because I am a girl, I must study. To avoid destitution, I must study To win independence, I must study To fight frustration, I

(Mary Robinson blogs on her recent visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)– African women are on the move in an extraordinary way, and are determined to make their voices heard and their influence count – particularly on issues of peace and security. I witnessed this first hand at two recent meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, home of the African Union (AU) Secretariat and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The first was the 15th pre-summit meeting on gender mainstreaming in the AU, organised by the Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC), and supported by Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) and the

Equality Now and Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) Coalition convened a meeting on ‘Global Efforts to Eradicate Violence and Discrimination against Women and Girls: A Discussion on Approaches to Combat Sex Trafficking, legally Upholding the Rights of Adolescent Girls and Domesticate the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa’ in Nairobi, Kenya from 10 to 11 September 2009.